Spectropolarimetry of Seyfert 1 galaxies with equatorial scattering: Black hole masses and Broad Line Region characteristics

Abstract

Here we present the spectropolarimetric observations of a sample of 30 Type 1 AGNs and an analysis of the observed polarization in these AGNs. The observations have been performed with the 6-meter telescope of SAO RAS using the modified SCORPIO-2 spectropolarimeter. We measured the Stokes parameters for the continuum and the broad H$\alpha$ line and obtained the values of polarization degree and the angle of polarization. We found that equatorial scattering is dominant polarization mechanism in the sample, that allows us to use the observed polarization in the broad lines for determination of the central black hole (BH) masses and characteristics (the inclination and emissivity) of the Broad Line Region (BLR). We demonstrated that the recently proposed method of \cite{ap15} for BH mass measurement gives accurate BH masses which are in a good correlation with the stellar velocity dispersion, and consequently the masses determined by the polarization method can be used with calibration purposes. Additionally we found that the BLR in the sample of 30 AGN has an averaged inclination of $35^{\circ }\pm 9^{\circ }$ (mostly between 20 and 40 degrees) and emissivity $\alpha \sim -0.57$ that is more flat than one expected for the classical accretion disc $\alpha \sim -0.75$.

19 pages, 15 figures, MNRAS accepted

References in corpus (13)

• The GALEX Ultraviolet Atlas of Nearby Galaxies
• The AGN Black Hole Mass Database
• Reverberation Measurements of the Inner Radius of the Dust Torus in 17 Seyfert Galaxies
• Correcting CIV-Based Virial Black Hole Masses
• A Revised Broad-Line Region Radius and Black Hole Mass for the Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 NGC 4051
• Double-peaked profiles: ubiquitous signatures of disks in the Broad Emission Lines of Active Galactic Nuclei
• An Improved Method for Using MgII to Estimate Black Hole Masses in Active Galactic Nuclei
• AGN Black hole mass estimates using polarization in broad emission Lines
• Polarization in lines - a new method for measuring black hole masses in active galaxies
• Spectropolarimetric Observations of Active Galactic Nuclei with the 6-m BTA Telescope
• Influence of the Magnetic Coupling Process on the Advection Dominated Accretion Flows around Black Holes
• Spectropolarimetric monitoring of active galaxy 3C390.3 with 6m telescope SAO RAS in the period 2009-2014
• Study of Distortions in Statistics of Counts in CCD Observations using the Fano Factor

Cited by in corpus (38)

• The resolved size and structure of hot dust in the immediate vicinity of AGN
• Long-term optical spectral monitoring of a changing-look AGN NGC 3516 I: Continuum and broad-line flux variability
• A Possible ~20 yr Periodicity in Long-term Optical Photometric and Spectral Variations of the Nearby Radio-Quiet Active Galactic Nucleus Ark 120
• Fundamental X-ray Corona Parameters of Swift/BAT AGN
• Monitoring AGNs with Hβ Asymmetry. II. Reverberation Mapping of Three Seyfert Galaxies Historically Displaying Hβ Profiles with Changing Asymmetry: Mrk 79, NGC 3227, and Mrk 841
• The first simultaneous X-ray broad-band view of Mrk 110 with XMM-Newton and NuSTAR
• Spectroscopy and polarimetry of the gravitationally lensed quasar SDSS J1004+4112 with the 6m SAO RAS telescope
• Kinematic signatures of reverberation mapping of close binaries of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei III. The case of elliptical orbits
• Spectropolarimetry of low redshift Quasars: origin of the polarization and implications for black hole mass estimates
• Modelling time delays from two reprocessors in active galactic nuclei
• Estimating supermassive black hole masses in AGNs using polarization of broad MgII, H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines
• Detecting subparsec super-massive binary black holes: Long termmonitoring perspective
• Star formation efficiency and AGN feedback in narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies with fast X-ray nuclear winds
• Linear Spectropolarimetric Analysis of Fairall 9 with VLT/FORS2
• Measuring the AGN sublimation radius with a new approach: reverberation mapping of the broad line polarization
• The polarized signal from broad emmission lines in AGN
• Evolution of the electric field along null rays for arbitrary observers and spacetimes
• The long-term broad-line responsivity in MKN 110
• Spectroscopy and polarimetry of the gravitationally lensed quasar Q0957+561
• A complex dust morphology in the high-luminosity AGN Mrk 876
• Spectropolarimetry and spectral decomposition of high-accreting Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Optical Spectropolarimetric Variability Properties in Blazars PKS 0637-75 and PKS 1510-089
• Spectropolarimetry of NGC3783 and Mrk509: Evidence for powerful nuclear winds in Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Study of the optical to X-ray broad emission lines of Mrk 110
• AGN orientation through the spectroscopic correlations and model of dusty cone shell
• Polarimetric Reverberation Mapping in Medium-Band Filters
• Polarization in broad emission lines of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Probing Picohertz Gravitational Waves with Pulsars
• Determination of the Physical Parameters of AGNs in Seyfert 1 Galaxies LEDA 3095839 and VII Zw 244 Based on Spectropolarimetric Observations
• Long Term Reverberation Mapping of Iron Coronal Lines in MKN 110
• Probing AGN with spectropolarimetry: accretion disk and SMBH parameters
• Past, present and Future of the Scaling Relations of Galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei
• Comparison between the influence of outflows and supermassive binary black holes in active galactic nuclei on the polarization angle profiles
• The Relationship Between Eddington Ratio and Column Density in U/LIRG AGN
• Quasar emission lines as virial luminosity estimators
• The first supermassive black hole mass measurement in active galactic nuclei using the polarization of broad emission line Mg II
• Broad line regions behind haze: Intrinsic shape of Br$\gamma$ line and its origin in a type-1 Seyfert galaxy
• Binary black hole signatures in polarized light curves