Modeling photometric reverberation mapping data for the next generation of big data surveys. Quasar accretion disks sizes with the LSST

Abstract

Photometric reverberation mapping can detect the radial extent of the accretion disc (AD) in Active Galactic Nuclei by measuring the time delays between light curves observed in different continuum bands. Quantifying the constraints on the efficiency and accuracy of the delay measurements is important for recovering the AD size-luminosity relation, and potentially using quasars as standard candles. We have explored the possibility of determining the AD size of quasars using next-generation Big Data surveys. We focus on the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which will observe several thousand quasars with the Deep Drilling Fields and up to 10 million quasars for the main survey in six broadband filter during its 10-year operational lifetime. We have developed extensive simulations that take into account the characteristics of the LSST survey and the intrinsic properties of the quasars. The simulations are used to characterise the light curves from which AD sizes are determined using various algorithms. We find that the time delays can be recovered with an accuracy of 5 and 15% for light curves with a time sampling of 2 and 5 days, respectively. The results depend strongly on the redshift of the source and the relative contribution of the emission lines to the bandpasses. Assuming an optically thick and geometrically thin AD, the recovered time-delay spectrum is consistent with black hole masses derived with 30% uncertainty.

19 pages, 17 figures, Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Cited by in corpus (13)

• Estimating AGN Black Hole Masses via Continuum Reverberation Mapping in the Era of LSST
• Expectations for time-delay measurements in active galactic nuclei with the Vera Rubin Observatory
• Broad-line region in active galactic nuclei: Dusty or dustless?
• A Gaussian process cross-correlation approach to time delay estimation in active galactic nuclei
• Application of the FRADO model of BLR formation to the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 and the first step toward determining the Hubble constant
• Spectral variability studies in Active Galactic Nuclei: Exploring continuum and emission line regions in the age of LSST and JWST
• Accretion disc reverberation mapping in a high-redshift quasar
• The Host Galaxy Fluxes of Active Galaxy Nuclei Are Generally Overestimated by the Flux Variation Gradient Method
• Extracting the X-ray reverberation response functions from the AGN light curves using an autoencoder
• HALO I: Photometric continuum reverberation mapping of Fairall 9
• Amoeba: An AGN Model of Optical Emissions Beyond steady-state Accretion discs
• Spectral Energy Distribution Modeling of Broad Emission Line Quasars: From X-ray to Radio Wavelengths
• Reevaluating LSST's Capability for Time Delay Measurements in Quasar Accretion Discs