Keplerian Motion of Broad-Line Region Gas as Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

Emission-line variability data on NGC 5548 argue strongly for the existence of a mass of order 7 x 10^7 solar masses within the inner few light days of the nucleus in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. The time-delayed response of the emission lines to continuum variations is used to infer the size of the line-emitting region, and these determinations are combined with measurements of the Doppler widths of the variable line components to estimate a virial mass. The data for several different emission lines spanning an order of magnitude in distance from the central source show the expected V proportional to r^{-1/2} correlation and are consistent with a single value for the mass.

9 pages, 2 Figures. accepted by ApJ Letters

Cited by in corpus (253)

• Reverberation Measurements for 17 Quasars and the Size-Mass-Luminosity Relations in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Central Masses and Broad-Line Region Sizes of Active Galactic Nuclei. II. A Homogeneous Analysis of a Large Reverberation-Mapping Database
• Determining Central Black Hole Masses in Distant Active Galaxies and Quasars. II. Improved Optical and UV Scaling Relationships
• The Low-Luminosity End of the Radius-Luminosity Relationship for Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Relationship Between Luminosity and Broad-Line Region Size in Active Galactic Nuclei
• A Structure for Quasars
• Central Masses and Broad-Line Region Sizes of Active Galactic Nuclei: I. Comparing the Photoionization and Reverberation Techniques
• The Radius-Luminosity Relationship for Active Galactic Nuclei: The Effect of Host-Galaxy Starlight on Luminosity Measurements II. The Full Sample of Reverberation-Mapped AGNs
• Reverberation Measurements of the Inner Radius of the Dust Torus in Nearby Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Systematic Effects in Measurement of Black Hole Masses by Emission-Line Reverberation of Active Galactic Nuclei: Eddington Ratio and Inclination
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Broad-Line Region Radii and Black Hole Masses from Reverberation Mapping of Hbeta
• Determining Central Black Hole Masses in Distant Active Galaxies
• The AGN Black Hole Mass Database
• An Alternative Approach To Measuring Reverberation Lags in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galactic Nuclei from Emission-Line Reverberation
• GA-NIFS: A massive black hole in a low-metallicity AGN at $z\sim 5.55$ revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
• X-ray Fluctuation Power Spectral Densities of Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Broad Emission Line Regions in AGN: the Link with the Accretion Power
• What the Optical Recombination Lines Can Tell Us About the Broad Line Regions of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Estimating Black Hole Masses in Active Galactic Nuclei Using the MgII 2800 Emission Line
• X-Ray and Optical Variability in NGC 4051 and the Nature of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Reverberation mapping of Active Galactic Nuclei: from X-ray corona to dusty torus
• GeV breaks in blazars as a result of gamma-ray absorption within the broad-line region
• A Reverberation-Based Mass for the Central Black Hole in NGC 4151
• Black hole mass estimates and emission-line properties of a sample of redshift z>6.5 quasars
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Reverberation Mapping of Optical Hydrogen and Helium Recombination Lines
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Technical Overview
• Early Growth and Efficient Accretion of Massive Black Holes at High Redshift
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Spectroscopic Campaign and Emission-Line Light Curves
• Black Hole Mass, Velocity Dispersion and the Radio Source in AGN
• The Evolution of the Broad-Line Region among SDSS Quasars
• Weighing the Black Holes in z~2 Submillimeter-Emitting Galaxies Hosting Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Radius-Luminosity Relationship Depends on Optical Spectra in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Metallicities and Abundance Ratios from Quasar Broad Emission Lines
• Systematic Errors in the Estimation of Black Hole Masses by Reverberation Mapping
• Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. I. Ultraviolet Observations of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548 with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on Hubble Space Telescope
• The jet power, radio loudness and black hole mass in radio loud AGNs
• Physical Diagnostics from a Narrow Fe-Kalpha Emission Line Detected by Chandra in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Fe II Reverberation from the Outer Broad-Line Region
• Black Holes and Hosts of Active and Quiescent Galaxies: I. The Black Hole-Bulge Relation revisited
• A Systematic Analysis of Fe II Emission in Quasars: Evidence for Inflow to the Central Black Hole
• Active galactic nuclei at z~1.5: II. Black Hole Mass estimation by means of broad emission lines
• Systematic Uncertainties in Black Hole Masses Determined from Single Epoch Spectra
• The Mass of the Central Black Hole in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 3783
• Detailed Characterization of H_beta emission line profile in low z SDSS quasars
• Super-Eddington accretion rates in Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies
• On the masses of black-holes in radio-loud quasars
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project: Recalibrating Single-Epoch Virial Black Hole Mass Estimates
• FeII/MgII Emission Line Ratio in High Redshift Quasars
• The Near-Infrared Broad Emission Line Region of Active Galactic Nuclei -- I. The Observations
• The broad emission-line region: the confluence of the outer accretion disc with the inner edge of the dusty torus
• Locally Optimally-Emitting Clouds and the Variable Broad Emission Line Spectrum of NGC 5548
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Estimating Masses of Black Holes in Quasars with Single-Epoch Spectroscopy
• Spectroscopic Indication for a Centi-parsec Supermassive Black Hole Binary in the Galactic Center of NGC 5548
• The Influence of Gravitational Microlensing on the Broad Emission Lines of Quasars
• Active Galactic Nuclei Emission-Line Properties Versus Eddington Ratio
• Microlensing of the Broad Emission Line Region in the Quadruple Lens SDSS J1004+4112
• NGC 5548 in a Low-Luminosity State: Implications for the Broad-Line Region
• The Mass of the Central Black Hole in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 4151
• Kinematics of the Broad-line Region of 3C 273 from a Ten-year Reverberation Mapping Campaign
• Spectroscopic Gravitational Lensing and Limits on the Dark Matter Substructure in Q2237+0305
• Velocity-resolved reverberation mapping of five bright Seyfert 1 galaxies
• The Ionized Gas and Nuclear Environment in NGC 3783 V. Variability and Modeling of the Intrinsic Ultraviolet Absorption
• The relation between black hole mass and velocity dispersion at z~0.37
• Hbeta Profiles in Quasars: Evidence for an Intermediate-line Region
• Redshift Evolution in Black Hole-Bulge Relations: Testing CIV-based Black Hole Masses
• Exploring NLS1 through the physical properties of their hosts
• Quantifying the Diffuse Continuum Contribution of BLR Clouds to AGN Continuum Inter-band Delays
• The Black Hole-Bulge Relationship in Luminous Broad-Line Active Galactic Nuclei and Host Galaxies
• Supermassive Black Holes with High Accretion Rates in Active Galactic Nuclei. VIII. Structure of the Broad-Line Region and Mass of the Central Black Hole in Mrk 142
• A Bar Fuels a Super-Massive Black Hole?: Host Galaxies of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• The Lick AGN Monitoring Project 2011: Dynamical Modeling of the Broad Line Region in Mrk 50
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: MgII Lag Results from Four Years of Monitoring
• Black hole masses from power density spectra: determinations and consequences
• Monitoring AGNs with Hβ Asymmetry. I. First Results: Velocity-resolved Reverberation Mapping
• The Physical Connections Among IR QSOs, PG QSOs and Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Chandra Survey of Radio-quiet, High-redshift Quasars
• The Civ line width distribution for quasars and its implications for broad-line region dynamics and virial mass estimation
• The shape of broad-line profiles in AGN
• A Relation Between Supermassive Black Hole Mass and Quasar Metallicity?
• Intensive HST, RXTE and ASCA Monitoring of NGC 3516: Evidence Against Thermal Reprocessing
• Towards a Complete Census of AGNs in Nearby Galaxies: The Incidence of Growing Black Holes
• Estimating Black Hole Masses in Quasars Using Broad Optical and UV Emission Lines
• Binary black holes and tori in AGN I. Ejection of stars and merging of the binary
• VLT/ISAAC Spectra of the H-beta Region in Intermediate-Redshift Quasars II. Black Hole Mass and Eddington Ratio
• The mass of the black hole in 3C 273
• Constraints for the accretion disk evaporation rate in AGN from the existence of the Broad Line Region
• High-ionization mid-infrared lines as black hole mass and bolometric luminosity indicators in active galactic nuclei
• Two Different Accretion Classes in Seyfert 1 Galaxies and QSOs
• Optical Monitoring of the Broad-Line Radio Galaxy 3C390.3
• Supermassive Black Hole Mass Estimates Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Spectra at 0.7 < z < 2
• Star formation in accretion discs : from the Galactic Center to Active Galactic Nuclei
• The relationship between the X-ray variability and the central black hole mass
• Understanding Broad Mg II Variability in Quasars with Photoionization: Implications for Reverberation Mapping and Changing-Look Quasars
• Black Hole Masses in Three Seyfert Galaxies
• NLS1 galaxies and estimation of their central black hole masses from the X-ray excess variance method
• Partial coverage of the Broad Line Region of Q1232+082 by an intervening H2-bearing cloud
• Observations of OI and CaII Emission Lines in Quasars: Implications for the Site of FeII Line Emission
• Eddington Accretion and QSO Emission Lines at z ~ 2
• Clues to Quasar Broad Line Region Geometry and Kinematics
• Black hole mass and Eddington ratio distribution functions of X-ray selected broad-line AGNs at z~1.4 in the Subaru XMM-Newton Deep Field
• Inclinations and black hole masses of Seyfert 1 galaxies
• CIV Line-Width Anomalies: The Perils of Low S/N Spectra
• Coexistence of Gravitationally Bound and Radiation Driven CIV Emission Line Regions in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Estimate black hole masses of AGNs using ultraviolet emission line properties
• Evidence for an intermediate mass black hole and a multi-zone warm absorber in NGC 4395
• Emission line widths and QSO black hole mass estimates from the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey
• Stratified disc wind models for the AGN broad-line region: ultraviolet, optical and X-ray properties
• Towards equation of state of dark energy from quasar monitoring: Reverberation strategy
• Variability of Fe II Emission Features in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
• Low-Ionization Outflows in High Eddington Ratio Quasars
• High metal content of highly accreting quasars
• Evidence for an intermediate line region in AGN's inner torus region and its evolution from narrow to broad line Seyfert I galaxies
• Size-Mass-luminosity relations in AGN and the role of the accretion disc
• Infrared FeII Emission in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Spin orientation of supermassive black holes in active galaxies
• Black Hole Masses of Intermediate-Redshift Quasars: Near Infrared Spectroscopy
• The Broad Line Region and Black Hole Mass of NGC 4151
• Anti-correlation between the mass of a supermassive black hole and the mass accretion rate in type I ultraluminous infrared galaxies and nearby QSOs
• Extending the Calibration of CIV-Based Single-Epoch Black Hole Mass Estimators for Active Galactic Nuclei
• Vertical broad-line region structure in nearby active galactic nuclei
• Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. X. Understanding the Absorption-Line Holiday in NGC 5548
• Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. VIII. Time Variability of Emission and Absorption in NGC 5548 Based on Modeling the Ultraviolet Spectrum
• Implications of Quasar Black Hole Masses at High Redshifts
• Photometric Reverberation Mapping of the Broad Emission Line Region in Quasars
• Reverberation and photoionization estimates of the Broad Line Region Radius in Low-z Quasars
• The Spectral Energy Distribution and Emission-Line properties of the NLS1 Galaxy Arakelian 564
• Nuclear/Circumnuclear Starbursts and Active Galactic Nuclei Mass Accretion in Seyfert Galaxies
• Determination of the Central Mass in Active Galactic Nuclei Using Cross-Correlation Lags and Velocity Dispersions
• The orientation dependence of quasar single-epoch black hole mass scaling relationships
• Type I ULIRGs: Transition Stage from ULIRGs to QSOs
• Swift/UVOT grism monitoring of NGC 5548 in 2013: an attempt at MgII reverberation mapping
• Reverberation Mapping of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The CaFe Project: Optical Fe II and Near-Infrared Ca II triplet emission in active galaxies -- simulated EWs, the co-dependence of cloud sizes and metal content
• Black Hole Mass Estimates and Rapid Growth of Supermassive Black Holes in Luminous $z\sim$ 3.5 Quasars
• Modeling optical and UV polarization of AGNs V. Dilution by interstellar polarization and the host galaxy
• Quasar Rain: the Broad Emission Line Region as Condensations in the Warm Accretion Disk Wind
• GTC Spectra of z ~ 2.3 Quasars: Comparison with Local Luminosity Analogues
• On the size of the Fe II emitting region in the AGN Akn 120
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Comparison of Lag Measurement Methods with Simulated Observations
• Recoiling supermassive black hole in changing-look AGN Mrk 1018
• OI and CaII observations in intermediate redshift quasars
• Black hole mass estimates in quasars - A comparative analysis of high- and low-ionization lines
• Variability of accretion flow in the core of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 4151
• Orientation effects in quasar spectra: The broad- and narrow-line regions
• CIV and CIII] reverberation mapping of the luminous quasar PG 1247+267
• Photometric Variability and Astrometric Stability of the Radio Continuum Nucleus in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 5548
• Optical, UV, and X-ray Clues to the Nature of Narrow Line AGNs
• Microlensing of a Biconical Broad Line Region
• The intermediate line region in active galactic nuclei
• Reverberation Mapping of the Broad Line Region: application to a hydrodynamical line-driven disk wind solution
• Implications of the X-ray Variability for the Mass of MCG-6-30-15
• Stability of the Broad Line Region Geometry and Dynamics in Arp 151 Over Seven Years
• Gamma-ray opacity of the anisotropic stratified broad-line regions in blazars
• Two-Component Structure of the Hbeta Broad-Line Region in Quasars. I. Evidence from Spectral Principal Component Analysis
• The mystery of spectral breaks: Lyman continuum absorption by photon-photon pair production in the Fermi GeV spectra of bright blazars
• NGC 5548: Lack of a Broad Fe K Line and Constraints on the Location of the Hard X-ray Source
• Balmer Emission Line Profiles and the Complex Properties of Broad Line Regions in Active Galactic Nuclei
• SDSS J1130+0058 an X-shaped Radio Source With Double-Peaked Low-Ionization Emission Lines: A binary Black Hole System?
• Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Observations of the Seyfert 1.5 Galaxy NGC 5548 in a Low State
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Improving Lag Detection with an Extended Multi-Year Baseline
• Size and disk-like shape of the broad-line region of ESO399-IG20
• Broad-line Region of the Quasar PG 2130+099 from a Two-Year Reverberation Mapping Campaign with High Cadence
• HST/COS observations of the newly discovered obscuring outflow in NGC 3783
• Kinematic signatures of reverberation mapping of close binaries of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei
• Ultraviolet Emission-Line Correlations in Hubble/COS Spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei: Single-Epoch Black Hole Masses
• Suzaku Monitoring of the Iron K Emission Line in the Type 1 AGN NGC 5548
• Constraining the quasar population with the broad-line width distribution
• Simultaneous H alpha and dust reverberation mapping of 3C120: Testing the bowl-shaped torus geometry
• The behavior of quasar C IV emission-line properties with orientation
• Self-Gravitating Eccentric Disk Models for the Double Nucleus of M31
• Gravitational Redshift of Emission Lines in the AGN Spectra
• Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxies in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6
• The Accretion Geometry in Radio-Loud Active Galaxies
• First Detection of Near-Infrared Intraday Variations in the Seyfert 1 Nucleus NGC4395
• Modelling photometric reverberation data -- a disk-like broad-line region and a potentially larger black hole mass for 3C120
• The influence of gravitational lensing on the spectra of lensed QSOs
• A Steady-State Spectral Model For Electron Acceleration And Cooling In Blazar Jets: Application To 3C 279
• Modelling the AGN broad line region using single-epoch spectra II. Nearby AGN
• Modeling photometric reverberation mapping data for the next generation of big data surveys. Quasar accretion disks sizes with the LSST
• 'Disc-jet' coupling in black hole X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei
• Systematic Broad-band X-ray Study of super-Eddington Accretion onto Supermassive Black Holes. I. X-ray Continuum
• Accretion disks, quasars and cosmology: meandering towards understanding
• On the Virialization of Disk Winds: Implications for the Black Hole Mass Estimates in AGN
• Dynamics of the Lyman alpha and C IV emitting gas in 3C 273
• On the Signatures of Gravitational Redshift: The Onset of Relativistic Emission Lines
• A new method to obtain the Broad Line Region size of high redshift quasars
• The Formation of Broad Line Clouds in the Accretion Shocks of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Kinematics of Quasar Broad Emission Line Regions Using a Disk-wind Model
• Black Hole Mass Estimation: How good is the virial estimate?
• ASCA Observations of NLS1s
• Electron Acceleration In Blazars: Application to the 3C 279 Flare on 2013 December 20
• Do quasar broad-line velocity widths add any information to virial black hole mass estimates?
• The Effect of Variability on the Estimation of Quasar Black Hole Masses
• The z=0.54 LoBAL Quasar SDSS J085053.12+445122.5: II. The Nature of Partial Covering in the Broad-Absorption-Line Outflow
• A Polarimetric Method for Measuring Black Hole Masses in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Single-Epoch Black Hole Mass Estimators For Broad-Line Active Galactic Nuclei: Recalibrating Hbeta with A New Approach
• Simultaneous detection and analysis of optical and ultraviolet broad emission lines in quasars at z~2.2
• The intermediate-ionization lines as virial broadening estimators for Population A quasars
• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: Composite Lags at $z\lesssim 1$
• Using the Properties of Broad Absorption Line Quasars to Illuminate Quasar Structure
• Radiation from the impact of broad-line region clouds onto AGN accretion disks
• The Accuracy of Supermassive Black Hole Masses Determined by the Single-Epoch-Spectrum (Dibai) Method
• A Limit Relation between Black Hole Mass and H$\beta$ Width: Testing Super-Eddington Accretion in Active Galactic Nuclei
• UV spectral diagnostics for low redshift quasars: estimating physical conditions and radius of the Broad Line Region
• Dusty plasma in active galactic nuclei
• Kinematics of the H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ broad line region in an SDSS sample of type 1 AGNs
• Discovery of a very Lyman-$\alpha$-luminous quasar at z=6.62
• A Tentative Size-Luminosity Relation for the Iron Emission-Line Region in Quasars
• Reverberation-mapping of distant quasars: time-lag determination using different methods
• Rest-frame UV single-epoch black hole mass estimates of low-luminosity AGN at intermediate redshifts
• Estimating Black Hole Masses in Hundreds of Quasars
• The H$\alpha$ broadband photometric reverberation mapping of four Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Statistical analysis of AlIII 1860 and CIII] 1909 emission lines as virial black hole mass estimators in quasars
• Variability of NGC 4051 and the Nature of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• The sizes of BLRs and BH masses of double-peaked broad low-ionization emission line objects
• Possible Evidence for a Truncated Thin Disk in Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC4593
• Correlation between Line Width and Line Flux of Double-Peaked Broad Halpha of 3C390.3
• Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of Quasars at z~3 and Estimates of Their Supermassive Black Hole Masses
• Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopy Of Active Galactic Nuclei With AstroSat/UVIT
• The Mass of the Black Hole in NGC 5273 from Stellar Dynamical Modeling
• Broadband Photometric Reverberation Mapping Analysis on SDSS-RM and Stripe 82 Quasars
• Stacked reverberation lags at high redshift
• Toward Precision Measurement of Central Black Hole Masses
• Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph - Distant Quasar Survey: Prescriptions for Calibrating UV-Based Estimates of Supermassive Black Hole Masses in High-Redshift Quasars
• M94 As A Unique Testbed for Black Hole Mass Estimates and AGN Activity At Low Luminosities
• Supermassive Black Hole Mass Regulated by Host Galaxy Morphology
• How Similar are the Properties of Quasars with Nearly Identical Ultraviolet Spectra?
• Determining Quasar Orientation
• More Evidence for the Intermediate Broad Line Region of the Mapped AGN PG 0052+251
• Broad spectral line and continuum variabilities in QSO spectra induced by microlensing of diffusive massive substructure
• Revealing the structure of the lensed quasar Q 0957+561: III. SMBH mass via gravitational redshift
• Spectropolarimetric measurements of hidden broad lines in nearby megamaser galaxies: a lack of clear evidence for a correlation between black hole masses and virial products
• Composite reverberation mapping
• Spectral Energy Distribution Variations of Nearby Seyfert Galaxies During AGN Watch Monitoring Programs
• An optical perspective on early-stage AGN with extreme radio flares
• partly obscured accretion disk model to explain Shifted broad Balmer emission lines of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Balmer line shifts in quasars
• The quasar main sequence and its potential for cosmology
• A New Model for the Width of the Broad Emission Lines in AGN: The Role of the Accretion Rate
• Uncertainty Quantification of the Virial Black Hole Mass with Conformal Prediction
• Active Galaxies in the UV
• Hydrogen Balmer Emission Lines and the Complex Broad Line Region Structure
• Constraining Recoiling Velocities of Black Holes Ejected by Gravitational Radiation in Galaxy Mergers
• Techniques for Profile Binning and Analysis of Eigenvector Composite Spectra: Comparing Hbeta and MgII 2800 as Virial Estimators
• Hunting for the nature of the enigmatic narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 2004-447
• A detailed spectroscopic study of Tidal Disruption Events
• Peaked sources and narrow-line Seyfert 1s: a love story
• A Detailed View of the Broad Line Region in NGC 3783 from Velocity-Resolved Reverberation Mapping
• Reverberation Mapping of Two Luminous Quasars: the Broad-line Region Structure and Black Hole Mass
• Quasar emission lines as virial luminosity estimators
• FeII emission in NLS1s -- originating from denser regions with higher abundances?
• Uncertainties of the masses of black holes and Eddington ratios in AGN