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Journal ArticleDOI

Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-11.7 mu m spectrum and mid-IR imaging of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 279 with ISO

TL;DR: In this article, mid-infrared images of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 279 obtained with the ISO satellite are presented together with the results of a one-year monitoring campaign of the 2.5-11.7 mum spectrum.
Abstract: Mid-infrared images of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 279 obtained with the ISO satellite are presented together with the results of a one-year monitoring campaign of the 2.5-11.7 mum spectrum. Contemporaneous optical photometric and spectrophotometric observations are also presented. The galaxy appears as a point-like source at the resolution of the ISOCAM instrument (4-5 "). The 2.5-11.7 mum average spectrum of the nucleus in Mrk 279 shows a strong power law continuum with alpha = -0.80 +/- 0.05 (F nu proportional to nu (alpha)) and weak PAK emission features. The Mrk 279 spectral energy distribution shows a mid-IR bump, which extends from 2 to 15-20 mum The mid-IR bump is consistent with thermal emission from dust grains at a distance of greater than or similar to 100 It-d. No significant variations of the mid-IR flux have been detected during our observing campaign, consistent with the relatively low amplitude (similar to 10% rms) of the optical variability during the campaign. The time delay for H beta line emission in response to the optical continuum variations is tau = 16.7(-5.6)(+5.3), days, consistent with previous measurements.

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Journal ArticleDOI
Zheng Fang1, Xinjian Yi, Xiangyan Liu, Wei Zhang, Zhang Tianxu 
TL;DR: A new optical system for infrared (IR) image-spectrum integration remote sensing to find the key spectral characteristics of typical hot target and to explore a new intelligence fusion method for the recognition.
Abstract: We present a new optical system for infrared (IR) image-spectrum integration remote sensing. The purpose to develop this instrument is to find the key spectral characteristics of typical hot target and to explore a new intelligence fusion method for the recognition. When mounted on a two-dimensional rotation stage, it can track the suspected target by image processing, and then get its spectrum to do recognition. It is a dual-band system with long-wave infrared (LWIR) imaging and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) spectrum. An IR dichroic beamsplitter is used to divide wideband incident infrared into LWIR and MWIR. Compared to traditional infrared combined imaging and spectral-analysis instruments, it yields higher sensitivity for measuring the IR spectrum. The sensors for imaging and spectrum detection are separate, so high spatial resolution, frame rate, and spectrum resolution can all be obtained simultaneously.

10 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated estimation of black hole masses in AGNs based on individual or "single epoch" observations, with a particular emphasis in comparing mass estimates based on line dispersion and FWHM.
Abstract: It is well known that reverberation mapping of active galactic nuclei (AGN) reveals a relationship between AGN luminosity and the size of the broad-line region, and that use of this relationship, combined with the Doppler width of the broad emission line, enables an estimate of the mass of the black hole at the center of the active nucleus based on a single spectrum An unresolved key issue is the choice of parameter used to characterize the line width, either FWHM or line dispersion (the square root of the second moment of the line profile) We argue here that use of FWHM introduces a bias, stretching the mass scale such that high masses are overestimated and low masses are underestimated Here we investigate estimation of black hole masses in AGNs based on individual or "single epoch" observations, with a particular emphasis in comparing mass estimates based on line dispersion and FWHM We confirm the recent findings that, in addition to luminosity and line width, a third parameter is required to obtain accurate masses and that parameter seems to be Eddington ratio We present simplified empirical formulae for estimating black hole masses from the Hbeta 4861 A and C IV 1549 A emission lines While the AGN continuum luminosity at 5100 A is usually used to predict the Hbeta reverberation lag, we show that the luminosity of the Hbeta broad component can be used instead without any loss of precision, thus eliminating the difficulty of accurately accounting for the host-galaxy contribution to the observed luminosity

9 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...…Denney et al. 2009b; (17) Bentz et al. 2006a; (18) Zhang et al. 2019; (19) Denney et al. 2006; (20) Bentz et al. 2016; (21) Bentz et al. 2014; (22) Santos-Lleó et al. 2001; (23) Peterson et al. 1991; (24) Peterson et al. 2013; (25) Peterson et al. 1992; (26) Peterson et al. 1994; (27) Korista et…...

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01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test the hypothesis that narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NSL1s) are active galactic nuclei in their early phase and are therefore younger and more active than the more common broad-line BLS1s.
Abstract: In this work, we test the hypothesis that narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NSL1s) are active galactic nuclei in their early phase and are therefore younger and more active than the more common broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (BLS1s). If that is true, then NLS1s should, on average, have lower black hole (BH) masses and higher accretion rates than BLS1s. To test this, we use a sample of 35 NLS1s and 54 BLS1s with similar X-ray luminosity distributions and good XMM-Newton observations. To determine the BH mass MBH, we apply an X-ray scaling method that is independent of any assumptions on the broad-line region dynamics and the inclination of the objects. We find that, on average, NLS1s have lower BH masses, but the difference between the average MBH of NLS1s and BLS1s in our sample is only marginally significant (at the 2.6 sigma level). According to a Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, the distribution of MBH values of NLS1s is different from that of BLS1s at the 99% confidence level. Even stronger differences between NLS1s and BLS1s are inferred when the accretion rate distributions of NLS1s are compared to BLS1s, suggesting that the two populations are indeed distinct. Our study also indicates that the MBH values (both for NLS1s and BLS1s) determined with the X-ray scaling method are fully consistent with those obtained using reverberation mapping.

9 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Areg M. Mickaelian1
01 Oct 2013
TL;DR: The First Byurakan Survey (FBS) as mentioned in this paper was the first systematic survey for active galaxies and was a new method for search for such objects, which led to the discovery of 1517 UV-excess (Markarian) galaxies.
Abstract: Markarian survey (or the First Byurakan Survey, FBS) was the first systematic survey for active galaxies and was a new method for search for such objects. Until now, it is the largest objective prism survey of the sky (17,000 deg2). It was carried out in 1965–1980 by B. E. Markarian and his colleagues and resulted in discovery of 1517 UV-excess (Markarian) galaxies. They contain many active galaxies, as well as powerful gamma-, X-ray, IR and radio sources (Mrk 180, 231, 421, 501, etc.), BCDGs (Mrk 116) and interacting/merging systems (Mrk 266, 273, etc.). They led to the classification of Seyfert galaxies into Sy1 and Sy2 and the definition of Starbursts (SB). Several catalogs of Markarian galaxies have been published (Mazzarella & Balzano 1986; Markarian et al. 1989; Bicay et al. 1995; Petrosian et al. 2007) and they are accessible in all corresponding databases. Markarian survey also served as a basis for search for UVX stellar objects (including QSOs and Seyferts), late-type stars and optical identification of IR sources. At present the survey is digitized and DFBS database is available. I will review the main characteristics of the Markarian survey, its comparison with other similar surveys and the importance of Markarian galaxies in modern astrophysics.

6 citations


Cites background from "Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-1..."

  • ...Santos-Lleo et al. (2001) have carried out a monitoring of the optical and NIR spectrum and MIR imaging of the Sy 1 galaxy Mrk 279....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a method for measuring correlation functions without interpolating in the temporal domain is proposed which provides an assumption-free representation of the correlation measured in the data and allows meaningful error estimates.
Abstract: A method for measuring correlation functions without interpolating in the temporal domain is proposed which provides an assumption-free representation of the correlation measured in the data and allows meaningful error estimates. Physical interpretation of the cross-correlation function of two series believed to be related by a convolution is shown to require knowledge of the input function's fluctuation power spectrum. Application of the method to two systems reveals no correlation for the optical data of Akn 120, but a strong correlation for the UV data of NGC 4151, placing bounds of between 1.2 and 20 light days on the size of the line-emitting region.

1,139 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a procedure is described for analyzing a time series of measurements of both the continuum and the emission lines, and it is shown that if the emission line region has a high degree of symmetry, then it is possible to invert the time-dependent line profiles and obtain the phase space distribution of the emission-line gas.
Abstract: Variations in the strengths of the central photoionization source in a quasar or Seyfert galaxy will generate variations in the strengths and profiles of the emission lines. These ''reverberations'' in the emission lines will lag behind the continuum variations due to light travel time effects. A procedure is described for analyzing a time series of measurements of both the continuum and the lines. This procedure permits direct verification of the assumed causal connection of the lines to the continuum. We demonstrate that if the emission line region has a high degree of symmetry, then it is possible to invert the time-dependent line profiles and obtain the phase space distribution of the emission-line gas: i.e., its emissivity and the moments of its velocity distributions as functions of position. The cases of spherical and disk symmetry are considered in detail; the case of a straight jet, which may be relevent to correlated optical and radio variations, is discussed briefly. Explicit calculations of expected line variations have been carried out for several simple models. We suggest that with recently developed instrumentation it should now be possible to apply this technique to Seyfert galaxies. Long term, highly accurate observations will be required for themore » application to quasars.« less

1,034 citations


"Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-1..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...Reverberation-mapping techniques (Blandford & McKee 1982) have been used extensively to map the BLR in several AGN, on scales of light days to light months, notably by the International AGN Watch1 consortium (Alloin et al. 1994)....

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01 Jun 1988
TL;DR: It is shown that physical interpretation of active galactic nuclei cross-correlation functions requires knowledge of the input function's fluctuation power spectrum, involves model-dependence in the form of symmetry assumptions, and must take into account intrinsic scale bias.
Abstract: A method of measuring correlation functions without interpolating in the temporal domain, the discrete correlation function, is introduced. It provides an assumption-free representation of the correlation measured in the data, and allows meaningful error estimates. This method does not produce spurious correlations at zero lag due to correlated errors. It is shown that physical interpretation of active galactic nuclei cross-correlation functions requires knowledge of the input function's fluctuation power spectrum, involves model-dependence in the form of symmetry assumptions, and must take into account intrinsic scale bias. This technique was used to find a correlation in published IUE data for NGC 4151, which indicates that the broad C IV feature emanates from a shell 15 to 75 light-days in radius, assuming spherical symmetry.

818 citations


"Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-1..." refers methods in this paper

  • ...We used both the interpolation method of Gaskell & Sparke (1986) and the discretecorrelation function (DCF) method of Edelson & Krolik (1988), in both cases employing the specific implementation described by White & Peterson (1994)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that most of the bright quasars from the Palomar-Green (PG) survey appear to emit the bulk of their luminosity (typically more than 90%) between 3 nm and 300 μm (10.7-10^(18) Hz).
Abstract: Continuum observations from ~0.3 nm to 6 cm (10^(9.7)-10^(18) Hz) are presented for 109 bright quasars from the Palomar-Green (PG) survey. Two-thirds of the quasars have been detected in the infrared at wavelengths between 10 and 100 μm. All of the PG quasars appear to emit the bulk of their luminosity (typically more than 90%) between 3 nm and 300 μm (10^(12)-10^(17) Hz). The total luminosity at wavelengths longer than 1 μm is typically 20%-40% of that at wavelengths shortward of 1 μm. The gross shape of the energy distributions between 3 nm and 300 μm is remarkably similar for all the quasars except the flat-spectrum radio-loud quasars like 3C 273 and can plausibly be fitted by two broad components of thermal emission. In this interpretation the emission in the spectral range ~ 10 nm to 0.3 μm, the "big blue bump," is dominated by 10,00-100,000 K thermal emission from an accretion disk. The emission between 2 μm and 1 mm, the "infrared bump," is made up of reradiation from dust in a distorted disk extending from 0.1 pc to more than 1 kpc. The fairly small range in the relative sizes of the bumps suggests that the covering factor in most of the PG quasars is similar. There is no obvious connection between the strengths of the blue and infrared peaks and whether or not the quasar is radio quiet or radio loud. The mass of infrared emitting dust is estimated to be ~0.01 M_☉ at 2 μm and ~ 10^5 M_☉ at 60 μm. The radiation from 0.5 μm is thermal emission from the portion of the disk between 0.1 and 1 pc, illuminated primarily by the clouds of the broad-line region. The radiation from 5 μm to 1 mm is reradiation from a warped disk at distances greater than 1 pc from the central source, which is heated directly by radiation from the central source. Optically thin atomic emission (free-free and partially thermalized lines and bound-free) from gas within 1 pc of the central source, whose dust has sublimated, probably contributes to the flux from 0.5 to 2 μm. We believe that there is no convincing evidence for energetically significant nonthermal radiation in the wavelength range 3 nm to 300 μm in the continua of the radio-quiet and steep-spectrum radio-loud PG quasars.

648 citations


"Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-1..." refers background in this paper

  • ...The presence of a universal inflection point near 1.2µm in the spectral energy distribution of radio-quiet AGN’s strongly suggests that the bulk of the near IR flux arises from dust thermal emission (e.g., Barvainis 1987; Sanders et al. 1989)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, thermal radiation by dust can reproduce the overall shape of the bump seen in the near-infrared continua of many QSOs and AGN, and a simple model in which dust grains are heated by the primary nuclear optical/ultraviolet continuum produces the required emission at short wavelengths.
Abstract: It is shown here that thermal radiation by dust can reproduce the overall shape of the bump seen in the near-infrared continua of many QSOs and AGN. A simple model in which dust grains are heated by the primary nuclear optical/ultraviolet continuum produces the required emission at short wavelengths. The model naturally explains the onset of the bump at about 2 microns. This wavelength corresponds to the optically thin emission peak for the hottest possible grains, i.e., graphite grains at their evaporation temperature near 1500 K. Emission longward of 2 microns is due to cooler grains farther from the central source. 33 references.

644 citations


"Monitoring of the optical and 2.5-1..." refers background in this paper

  • ...The presence of a universal inflection point near 1.2µm in the spectral energy distribution of radio-quiet AGN’s strongly suggests that the bulk of the near IR flux arises from dust thermal emission (e.g., Barvainis 1987; Sanders et al. 1989)....

    [...]

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