6,655 research outputs found
The Black Hole Mass - Galaxy Luminosity Relationship for Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasars
We investigate the relationship between the mass of the central supermassive
black hole, M_bh, and the host galaxy luminosity, L_gal, in a sample of quasars
from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7). We use composite
quasar spectra binned by black hole mass and redshift to assess galaxy features
that would otherwise be overwhelmed by noise in individual spectra. The black
hole mass is calculated using the photoionization method, and the host galaxy
luminosity is inferred from the depth of the Ca II H + K features in the
composite spectra. We evaluate the evolution in the M_bh - L_gal relationship
by examining the redshift dependence of Delta log M_bh, the offset in black
hole mass from the local black hole - bulge relationship. There is little
systematic trend in Delta log M_bh out to z = 0.8. Using the width of the [O
III] emission line as a proxy for the stellar velocity dispersion, sigma_*, we
find agreement of our derived host luminosities with the locally-observed
Faber-Jackson relation. This supports the utility of the width of the [O III]
line as a proxy for sigma_* in statistical studies.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; final version; major revision
Accretion Disk Temperatures of QSOs: Constraints from the Emission Lines
QSO emission-line spectra are compared to predictions based on theoretical
ionizing continua of accretion disks. Observed line intensities do not show the
expected trend of higher ionization with higher accretion disk temperature as
derived from the black hole mass and accretion rate. This suggests that, at
least for accretion rates close to the Eddington limit, the inner disk does not
reach temperatures as high as expected from standard disk theory. Modified
radial temperature profiles, taking account of winds or advection in the inner
disk, achieve better agreement with observation. This conclusion agrees with an
earlier study of QSO continuum colors as a function of disk temperature. The
emission lines of radio-detected and radio-undetected sources show different
trends as a function of disk temperature.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
The Black Hole Mass - Galaxy Bulge Relationship for QSOs in the SDSS DR3
We investigate the relationship between black hole mass and host galaxy
velocity dispersion for QSOs in Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
We derive black hole mass from the broad Hbeta line width and continuum
luminosity, and the bulge stellar velocity dispersion from the [OIII] narrow
line width. At higher redshifts, we use MgII and [OII] in place of Hbeta and
[OIII]. For redshifts z < 0.5, our results agree with the black hole mass -
bulge velocity dispersion relationship for nearby galaxies. For 0.5 < z < 1.2,
this relationship appears to show evolution with redshift in the sense that the
bulges are too small for their black holes. However, we find that part of this
apparent trend can be attributed to observational biases, including a Malmquist
bias involving the QSO luminosity. Accounting for these biases, we find ~0.2
dex evolution in the black hole mass-bulge velocity dispersion relationship
between now and redshift z ~ 1.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 15 pages, 9 figure
Recoiling Black Holes in Quasars
Recent simulations of merging black holes with spin give recoil velocities
from gravitational radiation up to several thousand km/s. A recoiling
supermassive black hole can retain the inner part of its accretion disk,
providing fuel for a continuing QSO phase lasting millions of years as the hole
moves away from the galactic nucleus. One possible observational manifestation
of a recoiling accretion disk is in QSO emission lines shifted in velocity from
the host galaxy. We have examined QSOs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with
broad emission lines substantially shifted relative to the narrow lines. We
find no convincing evidence for recoiling black holes carrying accretion disks.
We place an upper limit on the incidence of recoiling black holes in QSOs of 4%
for kicks greater than 500 km/s and 0.35% for kicks greater than 1000 km/s
line-of-sight velocity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, uses emulateapj, Submitted to ApJ Letter
The Quasar SDSS J105041.35+345631.3: Black Hole Recoil or Extreme Double-Peaked Emitter?
The quasar SDSS J105041.35+345631.3 (z = 0.272) has broad emission lines
blueshifted by 3500 km/s relative to the narrow lines and the host galaxy. Such
an object may be a candidate for a recoiling supermassive black hole, binary
black hole, a superposition of two objects, or an unusual geometry for the
broad emission-line region. The absence of narrow lines at the broad line
redshift argues against superposition. New Keck spectra of J1050+3546 place
tight constraints on the binary model. The combination of large velocity shift
and symmetrical H-beta profile, as well as aspects of the narrow line spectrum,
make J1050+3546 an interesting candidate for black hole recoil. Other aspects
of the spectrum, however, suggest that the object is most likely an extreme
case of a ``double-peaked emitter.'' We discuss possible observational tests to
determine the true nature of this exceptional object.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX; substantial revision
- …