Time Series Analysis of Active Galactic Nuclei: The case of Arp 102B, 3C 390.3, NGC 5548 and NGC 4051

Abstract

We used the Z-transformed Discrete Correlation Function (ZDCF) and the Stochastic Process Estimation for AGN Reverberation (SPEAR) methods for the time series analysis of the continuum and the H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ line fluxes of a sample of well known type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs): Arp 102B, 3C 390.3, NGC 5548, and NGC 4051, where the first two objects are showing double-peaked emission line profiles. The aim of this work is to compare the time lag measurements from these two methods, and check if there is a connection with other emission line properties. We found that the obtained time lags from H$\beta$ are larger than those derived from the H$\alpha$ analysis for Arp 102B, 3C 390.3 and NGC 5548. This may indicate that the H$\beta$ line originates at larger radii in these objects. Moreover, we found that the ZDCF and SPEAR time lags are highly correlated ($r\sim 0.87$), and that the error ranges of both ZDCF and SPEAR time lags are correlated with the FWHM of used emission lines ($r\sim 0.7$). This increases the uncertainty of the black hole mass estimates using the virial theorem for AGNs with broader lines.

Accepted for publication in Advances in Space Research

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• Black hole mass estimation using X-ray variability measurements in Seyfert galaxies
• Spectropolarimetric monitoring of active galaxy 3C390.3 with 6m telescope SAO RAS in the period 2009-2014
• Long-term optical spectral monitoring of NGC 7469
• Estimation of the size and structure of the broad line region using Bayesian approach
• Spectral variability of the 3C 390.3 nucleus for more than twenty years. I. Variability of the broad and narrow emission-line fluxes
• PKS 2155-304: Long-Term Optical Photometric Monitoring and Variability Analysis