A status report on AGN variability
01 Oct 2019-Vol. 356, pp 101-115
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors used spectro- photometrically monitored Palomar-Green quasars in order to obtain mea- surements of their emission lines and investigate the relationship between quasar luminosity, central black hole mass, and broad emission-line regions (BLRs) size in AGNs.
Abstract: Correlated variations in the line and continuum emission from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can be used to determine the size and geometry of the broad emission-line regions (BLRs). We have spectro- photometrically monitored a well-de—ned sample of 28 Palomar-Green quasars in order to obtain mea- surements of their BLRs and to investigate the relationships between quasar luminosity, central black hole mass, and BLR size in AGNs. Spectrophotometry was obtained every 1¨4 months for 7.5 yr, yield- ing 20¨70 observing epochs per object. Both the continuum and emission-line —uxes of all of the quasars were observed to change during the duration of the observing program. Seventeen of the 28 objects were observed with adequate sampling independent observing epochs) to search for correlated variations (Z20 between the Balmer emission lines and the continuum —ux. For each of these 17 objects, a signi—cant correlation was observed, with the Balmer-line variations lagging those of the continuum by D100 days (rest frame). Our work increases the available luminosity range for studying the size-mass-luminosity relations in AGNs by 2 orders of magnitude and doubles the number of objects suitable for such studies. Combining our results with comparable published data available for Seyfert 1 galaxies, we —nd the BLR size scales with the rest-frame 5100 luminosity as L0.70B0.03. This determination of the scaling of the Ae size of the BLR as a function of luminosity is signi—cantly diUerent from those previously published and suggests that the eUective ionization parameter in AGNs may be a decreasing function of luminosity. We are also able to constrain, subject to our assumption that gravity dominates the motions of the BLR gas, the scaling relationship between the mass of the central black holes and the luminosity in AGNs. We —nd that the central mass scales with 5100 luminosity as M P L0.5B0.1. This is inconsistent with all Ae AGNs having optical luminosity that is a constant fraction of the Eddington luminosity. Subject headings: galaxies: activequasars: emission linesquasars: general
2,119 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a reanalysis of broad emission-line reverberation-mapping data was carried out for 35 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on a complete and consistent reanalysis, and it was shown that the highest precision measure of the virial product cτΔV2/G is obtained by using the cross-correlation function centroid (cf.
Abstract: We present improved black hole masses for 35 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on a complete and consistent reanalysis of broad emission-line reverberation-mapping data From objects with multiple line measurements, we find that the highest precision measure of the virial product cτΔV2/G, where τ is the emission-line lag relative to continuum variations and ΔV is the emission-line width, is obtained by using the cross-correlation function centroid (as opposed to the cross-correlation function peak) for the time delay and the line dispersion (as opposed to FWHM) for the line width and by measuring the line width in the variable part of the spectrum Accurate line-width measurement depends critically on avoiding contaminating features, in particular the narrow components of the emission lines We find that the precision (or random component of the error) of reverberation-based black hole mass measurements is typically around 30%, comparable to the precision attained in measurement of black hole masses in quiescent galaxies by gas or stellar dynamical methods Based on results presented in a companion paper by Onken et al, we provide a zero-point calibration for the reverberation-based black hole mass scale by using the relationship between black hole mass and host-galaxy bulge velocity dispersion The scatter around this relationship implies that the typical systematic uncertainties in reverberation-based black hole masses are smaller than a factor of 3 We present a preliminary version of a mass-luminosity relationship that is much better defined than any previous attempt Scatter about the mass-luminosity relationship for these AGNs appears to be real and could be correlated with either Eddington ratio or object inclination
1,893 citations
Ohio State University1, Princeton University2, Pennsylvania State University3, Max Planck Society4, Seoul National University5, University of Warsaw6, Carnegie Learning7, Ohio University8, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network9, European Space Agency10, University of California, Santa Barbara11, University of Hawaii12, University of Oklahoma13, Texas Tech University14
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported that NGC 2617 went through a dramatic outburst, during which its X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude followed by an increase of its optical/ultraviolet (UV) continuum flux.
Abstract: After the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae discovered a significant brightening of the inner region of NGC 2617, we began a ∼70 day photometric and spectroscopic monitoring campaign from the X-ray through near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. We report that NGC 2617 went through a dramatic outburst, during which its X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude followed by an increase of its optical/ultraviolet (UV) continuum flux by almost an order of magnitude. NGC 2617, classified as a Seyfert 1.8 galaxy in 2003, is now a Seyfert 1 due to the appearance of broad optical emission lines and a continuum blue bump. Such 'changing look active galactic nuclei (AGNs)' are rare and provide us with important insights about AGN physics. Based on the Hβ line width and the radius-luminosity relation, we estimate the mass of central black hole (BH) to be (4 ± 1) × 10{sup 7} M {sub ☉}. When we cross-correlate the light curves, we find that the disk emission lags the X-rays, with the lag becoming longer as we move from the UV (2-3 days) to the NIR (6-9 days). Also, the NIR is more heavily temporally smoothed than the UV. This can largely be explained bymore » a simple model of a thermally emitting thin disk around a BH of the estimated mass that is illuminated by the observed, variable X-ray fluxes.« less
1,473 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the disc-jet connection in stellar mass and supermassive black holes by investigating the properties of their compact emission in the X-ray and radio bands, and found that the radio luminosity is correlated with both M and L X, at a highly significant level.
Abstract: We examine the disc-jet connection in stellar mass and supermassive black holes by investigating the properties of their compact emission in the X-ray and radio bands. We compile a sample of ∼100 active galactic nuclei with measured masses, 5-GHz core emission, and 2-10 keV luminosities, together with eight galactic black holes with a total of ∼50 simultaneous observations in the radio and X-ray bands. Using this sample, we study the correlations between the radio (L R ) and the X-ray (L X ) luminosity and the black hole mass (M). We find that the radio luminosity is correlated with both M and L X , at a highly significant level. In particular, we show that the sources define a 'Fundamental Plane' in the three-dimensional (log L R , log L X , log M) space, given by log L R = (0.60 + 0 . 1 1 -0.11) log L X + (0.78 + 0 . 1 1 -0.09) log M + 7.33 + 4 . 0 5 -4.07, with a substantial scatter of σ R = 0.88. We compare our results to the theoretical relations between radio flux, black hole mass, and accretion rate derived by Heinz & Sunyaev. Such relations depend only on the assumed accretion model and on the observed radio spectral index. Therefore, we are able to show that the X-ray emission from black holes accreting at less than a few per cent of the Eddington rate is unlikely to be produced by radiatively efficient accretion, and is marginally consistent with optically thin synchrotron emission from the jet. On the other hand, models for radiatively inefficient accretion flows seem to agree well with the data.
1,235 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported that NGC 2617 went through a dramatic outburst, during which its X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude followed by an increase of its optical/ultraviolet (UV) continuum flux.
Abstract: After the All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN) discovered a significant brightening of the inner region of NGC 2617, we began a ~70 day photometric and spectroscopic monitoring campaign from the X-ray through near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. We report that NGC 2617 went through a dramatic outburst, during which its X-ray flux increased by over an order of magnitude followed by an increase of its optical/ultraviolet (UV) continuum flux by almost an order of magnitude. NGC 2617, classified as a Seyfert 1.8 galaxy in 2003, is now a Seyfert 1 due to the appearance of broad optical emission lines and a continuum blue bump. Such "changing look Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN)" are rare and provide us with important insights about AGN physics. Based on the Hbeta line width and the radius-luminosity relation, we estimate the mass of central black hole to be (4 +/- 1) x 10^7 M_sun. When we cross-correlate the light curves, we find that the disk emission lags the X-rays, with the lag becoming longer as we move from the UV (2-3 days) to the NIR (6-9 days). Also, the NIR is more heavily temporally smoothed than the UV. This can largely be explained by a simple model of a thermally emitting thin disk around a black hole of the estimated mass that is illuminated by the observed, variable X-ray fluxes.
1,191 citations