AGN BLR structure, luminosity and mass from combined reverberation mapping and optical interferometry observations

Suvendu Rakshit; Romain G. Petrov

doi:10.1117/12.2056436

24 July 2014 AGN BLR structure, luminosity and mass from combined reverberation mapping and optical interferometry observations

Suvendu Rakshit, Romain G. Petrov

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9146, Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV; 91460Q (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056436
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2014, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

Unveiling the structure of the Broad-Line Region (BLR) of AGN is critical to understand the quasar phenomenon. Detail study of the geometry and kinematic of these objects can answer the basic questions about the central BH mass, accretion mechanism and rate, growth and evolution history. Observing the response of the BLR clouds to continuum variations, Reverberation Mapping (RM) provides size-luminosity and mass-luminosity relations for QSOs and Sy1 AGNs with the goal to use these objects as standard candles and mass tags. However, the RM size can receive different interpretations depending on the assumed geometry and the corresponding mass depends on an unknown geometrical factor as well on the possible confusion between local and global velocity dispersion. From RM alone, the scatter around the mean mass is as large as a factor 3. Though BLRs are expected to be much smaller than the current spatial resolution of large optical interferometers (OI), we show that differential interferometry with AMBER, GRAVITY and successors can measure the size and constrain the geometry and kinematics on a large sample of QSOs and Sy1 AGNs. AMBER and GRAVITY (K_ 10:5) could be easily extended up to K= 13 by an external coherencer or by advanced incoherent" data processing. Future VLTI instrument could reach K~ 15. This opens a large AGN BLR program intended to obtain a very accurate calibration of mass, luminosity and distance measurements from RM data which will allow using many QSOs as standard candles and mass tags to study the general evolution of mass accretion in the Universe. This program is analyzed with our BLR model allowing predicting and interpreting RM and OI measures together and illustrated with the results of our observations of 3C273 with the VLTI.

Citation Download Citation

Suvendu Rakshit and Romain G. Petrov "AGN BLR structure, luminosity and mass from combined reverberation mapping and optical interferometry observations", Proc. SPIE 9146, Optical and Infrared Interferometry IV, 91460Q (24 July 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2056436

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
15 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Visibility

Clouds

Interferometry

Stereolithography

Solids

Signal to noise ratio

Spectral resolution

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years