Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line

E. Dalla Bontà; B. M. Peterson; C. J. Grier; M. Berton; W. N. Brandt; S. Ciroi; E. M. Corsini; B. Dalla Barba; R. Davies; M. Dehghanian; R. Edelson; L. Foschini; D. Gasparri; L. C. Ho; K. Horne; E. Iodice; L. Morelli; A. Pizzella; E. Portaluri; Y. Shen; D. P. Schneider; M. Vestergaard

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line

E. Dalla Bontà^*, B. M. Peterson, C. J. Grier, M. Berton, W. N. Brandt, S. Ciroi, E. M. Corsini, B. Dalla Barba, R. Davies, M. Dehghanian, R. Edelson, L. Foschini, D. Gasparri, L. C. Ho, K. Horne, E. Iodice, L. Morelli, A. Pizzella, E. Portaluri, Y. ShenD. P. Schneider, M. Vestergaard

^*Corresponding author for this work

DARK

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Aims. The goal of this project is to construct an estimator for the masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the broad Hα emission line. Methods. We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Hα time lags from the original data as we find that reverberation measurements are often improved by detrending the light curves. Results. We produced mass estimators that require only the Hα luminosity and the width of the Hα emission line as characterized by either the full width at half maximum or the line dispersion. Conclusions. It is possible, on the basis of a single spectrum covering the Hα emission line, to estimate the mass of the central supermassive black hole in AGNs with all three parameters believed to affect mass measurement - luminosity, line width, and Eddington ratio - taken into account. The typical formal accuracy in such estimates is of order 0.2-0.3 dex relative to the reverberation-based masses.

Original language	English
Article number	A48
Journal	Astronomy and Astrophysics
Volume	696
Number of pages	13
ISSN	0004-6361
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202452746
Publication status	Published - 1 Apr 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Authors 2025.

Keywords

Galaxies: active
Galaxies: nuclei
Galaxies: Seyfert
Quasars: emission lines

Access to Document

10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

aa52746-24Final published version, 496 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Dalla Bontà, E., Peterson, B. M., Grier, C. J., Berton, M., Brandt, W. N., Ciroi, S., Corsini, E. M., Dalla Barba, B., Davies, R., Dehghanian, M., Edelson, R., Foschini, L., Gasparri, D., Ho, L. C., Horne, K., Iodice, E., Morelli, L., Pizzella, A., Portaluri, E., ... Vestergaard, M. (2025). Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 696, Article A48. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

Dalla Bontà, E, Peterson, BM, Grier, CJ, Berton, M, Brandt, WN, Ciroi, S, Corsini, EM, Dalla Barba, B, Davies, R, Dehghanian, M, Edelson, R, Foschini, L, Gasparri, D, Ho, LC, Horne, K, Iodice, E, Morelli, L, Pizzella, A, Portaluri, E, Shen, Y, Schneider, DP & Vestergaard, M 2025, 'Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line', Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 696, A48. https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

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title = "Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line",

abstract = "Aims. The goal of this project is to construct an estimator for the masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the broad Hα emission line. Methods. We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Hα time lags from the original data as we find that reverberation measurements are often improved by detrending the light curves. Results. We produced mass estimators that require only the Hα luminosity and the width of the Hα emission line as characterized by either the full width at half maximum or the line dispersion. Conclusions. It is possible, on the basis of a single spectrum covering the Hα emission line, to estimate the mass of the central supermassive black hole in AGNs with all three parameters believed to affect mass measurement - luminosity, line width, and Eddington ratio - taken into account. The typical formal accuracy in such estimates is of order 0.2-0.3 dex relative to the reverberation-based masses.",

keywords = "Galaxies: active, Galaxies: nuclei, Galaxies: Seyfert, Quasars: emission lines",

author = "{Dalla Bont{\`a}}, E. and Peterson, {B. M.} and Grier, {C. J.} and M. Berton and Brandt, {W. N.} and S. Ciroi and Corsini, {E. M.} and {Dalla Barba}, B. and R. Davies and M. Dehghanian and R. Edelson and L. Foschini and D. Gasparri and Ho, {L. C.} and K. Horne and E. Iodice and L. Morelli and A. Pizzella and E. Portaluri and Y. Shen and Schneider, {D. P.} and M. Vestergaard",

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year = "2025",

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day = "1",

doi = "10.1051/0004-6361/202452746",

language = "English",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the H α emission line

AU - Dalla Bontà, E.

AU - Peterson, B. M.

AU - Grier, C. J.

AU - Berton, M.

AU - Brandt, W. N.

AU - Ciroi, S.

AU - Corsini, E. M.

AU - Dalla Barba, B.

AU - Davies, R.

AU - Dehghanian, M.

AU - Edelson, R.

AU - Foschini, L.

AU - Gasparri, D.

AU - Ho, L. C.

AU - Horne, K.

AU - Iodice, E.

AU - Morelli, L.

AU - Pizzella, A.

AU - Portaluri, E.

AU - Shen, Y.

AU - Schneider, D. P.

AU - Vestergaard, M.

PY - 2025/4/1

Y1 - 2025/4/1

N2 - Aims. The goal of this project is to construct an estimator for the masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the broad Hα emission line. Methods. We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Hα time lags from the original data as we find that reverberation measurements are often improved by detrending the light curves. Results. We produced mass estimators that require only the Hα luminosity and the width of the Hα emission line as characterized by either the full width at half maximum or the line dispersion. Conclusions. It is possible, on the basis of a single spectrum covering the Hα emission line, to estimate the mass of the central supermassive black hole in AGNs with all three parameters believed to affect mass measurement - luminosity, line width, and Eddington ratio - taken into account. The typical formal accuracy in such estimates is of order 0.2-0.3 dex relative to the reverberation-based masses.

AB - Aims. The goal of this project is to construct an estimator for the masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the broad Hα emission line. Methods. We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Hα time lags from the original data as we find that reverberation measurements are often improved by detrending the light curves. Results. We produced mass estimators that require only the Hα luminosity and the width of the Hα emission line as characterized by either the full width at half maximum or the line dispersion. Conclusions. It is possible, on the basis of a single spectrum covering the Hα emission line, to estimate the mass of the central supermassive black hole in AGNs with all three parameters believed to affect mass measurement - luminosity, line width, and Eddington ratio - taken into account. The typical formal accuracy in such estimates is of order 0.2-0.3 dex relative to the reverberation-based masses.

KW - Galaxies: active

KW - Galaxies: nuclei

KW - Galaxies: Seyfert

KW - Quasars: emission lines

U2 - 10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/202452746

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:105001875076

SN - 0004-6361

VL - 696

JO - Astronomy and Astrophysics

JF - Astronomy and Astrophysics

M1 - A48

ER -