In nearby galaxies, spatially resolved kinematics have provided strong evidence for the ubiquity of nuclear black holes, with dynamical black hole detections reported for 37 galaxies (Kormendy & Gebhardt 2001). On-line material: machine-readable tablesīlack holes have been the leading candidate to power the central engines in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) for over three decades (Lynden-Bell 1969), but direct evidence for their presence has been elusive. Subject headings: black hole physics galaxies: active galaxies: nuclei quasars: general For any given black hole mass, there is a range in Eddington ratio of up to 3 orders of magnitude. The Eddington limit defines an approximate upper envelope to the distribution of luminosities, but the lower envelope depends entirely on the sample of AGNs included. In contrast to other studies, we find no significant correlation of black hole mass with luminosity, other than those induced by circular reasoning in the estimation of black hole mass. Using published fluxes, we calculate bolometric luminosities for 234 AGNs and investigate the relation between black hole mass and luminosity. The less direct the method, the larger the discrepancy with other estimates, probably due to the large scatter in the underlying correlations assumed. We compare 36 cases for which black hole mass has been generated by different methods and find, for individual objects, a scatter as high as a couple of orders of magnitude. We introduce 200 additional black hole mass estimates based on properties of the host galaxy bulges, using either the observed stellar velocity dispersion or the fundamental plane relation to infer these methods assume that AGN hosts are normal galaxies. We collect and compare all AGN black hole mass estimates from the literature these 177 masses are mostly based on the virial assumption for the broad emission lines, with the broad-line region size determined from either reverberation mapping or optical luminosity. Black hole mass sets an approximate upper limit to AGN energetics via the Eddington limit. Box 208121, New Haven, CT 06520-8121 2002 May 31 accepted 2002 July 15īlack hole mass, along with mass accretion rate, is a fundamental property of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 of Physics and Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Yale University, P.O. Printed in U.S.A.Īctive Galactic Nucleus Black Hole Masses and Bolometric Luminositiesĭepartment of Astronomy, Yale University, P.O. Woo & Urry, AGN Black Hole Masses and Luminosities
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |