Journal
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
Volume 413, Issue 1, Pages L106-L109Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-3933.2011.01047.x
Keywords
galaxies: active; galaxies: nuclei; quasars: general; infrared: galaxies
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation (NSF) [AST-1008882]
- National Aeronautics Space Administration
- STFC [ST/F002963/1, ST/I001573/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/I001573/1, ST/F002963/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Astronomical Sciences [1008882] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Black hole masses for samples of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are currently estimated from single-epoch optical spectra. In particular, the size of the broad-line emitting region needed to compute the black hole mass is derived from the optical or ultraviolet continuum luminosity. Here we consider the relationship between the broad-line region size, R, and the near-infrared (near-IR) AGN continuum luminosity, L, as the near-IR continuum suffers less dust extinction than at shorter wavelengths and the prospects for separating the AGN continuum from host-galaxy starlight are better in the near-IR than in the optical. For a relationship of the form R proportional to L alpha, we obtain for a sample of 14 reverberation-mapped AGN a best-fitting slope of alpha = 0.5 +/- 0.1, which is consistent with the slope of the relationship in the optical band and with the value of 0.5 naively expected from photoionization theory. Black hole masses can then be estimated from the near-IR virial product, which is calculated using the strong and unblended Paschen broad emission lines (Pa alpha or Pa beta).
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available