Toward measuring supermassive black hole masses with interferometric observations of the dust continuum
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: This work focuses on active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and on the relation between the sizes of the hot dust continuum and the broad-line region (BLR). We find that the continuum size measured using optical/near-infrared interferometry (OI) is roughly twice that measured by reverberation mapping (RM). Both OI and RM continuum sizes show a tight relation with the Hβ BLR size, with only an intrinsic scatter of 0.25 dex. The masses of supermassive black holes (BHs) can hence simply be derived from a dust size in combination with a broad line width and virial factor. Since the primary uncertainty of these BH masses comes from the virial factor, the accuracy of the continuum-based BH masses is close to those based on the RM measurement of the broad emission line. Moreover, the necessary continuum measurements can be obtained on a much shorter timescale than those required monitoring for RM, and they are also more time efficient than those needed to resolve the BLR with OI. The primary goal of this work is to demonstrate a measuring of the BH mass based on the dust-continuum size with our first calibration of the RBLR–Rd relation. The current limitation and caveats are discussed in detail. Future GRAVITY observations are expected to improve the continuum-based method and have the potential of measuring BH masses for a large sample of AGNs in the low-redshift Universe.
Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Authors: A. Amorim, G. Bourdarot, W. Brandner, Y. Cao, Y. Clénet, R. Davies, P. T. de Zeeuw, J. Dexter, A. Drescher, A. Eckart, F. Eisenhauer, M. Fabricius, N. M. Förster Schreiber, P. J. V. Garcia, R. Genzel, S. Gillessen, D. Gratadour, S. Hönig, M. Kishimoto, S. Lacour, D. Lutz, F. Millour, H. Netzer, T. Ott, T. Paumard, K. Perraut, G. Perrin, B. M. Peterson, P. O. Petrucci, O. Pfuhl, M. A. Prieto, D. Rouan, D. J. D. Santos, J. Shangguan, T. Shimizu, A. Sternberg, C. Straubmeier, E. Sturm, L. J. Tacconi, K. R. W. Tristram, F. Widmann, J. Woillez
Institutions: University of Lisbon, Instituto Superior Técnico, Centro de Astrofísica e Gravitação, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, Leiden University, Leiden Observatory, Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Cologne, Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, Universidade do Porto, European Southern Observatory, University of California, Berkeley, Australian National University, University of Southampton, Kyoto Sangyo University, European Southern Observatory, Université Côte d'Azur, Lagrange Laboratory, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Tel Aviv University, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Flatiron Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,580
OpenAlex ID: W4303928108