Unveiling the Emission Mechanisms of Blazar PKS 1510-089: II. Jet-BLR Connection and Black Hole Mass Estimation

Abstract

The flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 is one of the most active blazars across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, displaying periods of flaring activity. This study explores its spectral variability over a decade. By employing the non-thermal dominance parameter, we analyze the H$\beta$ and $\lambda 5100\text{ A˚}$ continuum light curves, as well as the full width at half maximum of the H$\beta$ emission line, to identify whether the primary source of the continuum emission is the accretion disk or the jet during activity periods. Our results shows an anti-correlation between the full width at half maximum and the luminosity of the H$\beta$ emission line across all datasets. This indicates, that variations in H$\beta$ luminosity consistently reflects the canonical broad-line region, irrespective of whether the primary ionizing source is the accretion disk or the jet. The anti-correlation persisted when comparing the full width at half maximum of H$\beta$ against the luminosity at $\lambda 5100\text{ A˚}$ in the disk dominance regime. These findings, along with the observation that flaring events in the $\lambda 5100\text{ A˚}$ continuum, attributed to the jet, coincide with flares in the H$\beta$ emission line, suggest that the base of the jet is located within the broad-line region. Based on the 219 spectra within the disk dominance regime, we estimated a mean black hole mass of $M_{BH}=2.85\pm 0.37\times 10^8{M}_{\odot }$.

14 pages, 5 Figures, 3 Tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ