Supermassive black holes with high accretion rates in active galactic nuclei. I. First results from a new reverberation mapping campaign

Pu Du, Chen Hu, Kai Xing Lu, Fang Wang, Jie Qiu, Yan Rong Li, Jin Ming Bai, Shai Kaspi, Hagai Netzer, Jian Min Wang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

186 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report first results from a large project to measure black hole (BH) mass in high accretion rate active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Such objects may be different from other AGNs in being powered by slim accretion disks and showing saturated accretion luminosities, but both are not yet fully understood. The results are part of a large reverberation mapping (RM) campaign using the 2.4 m Shangri-La telescope at the Yunnan Observatory in China. The goals are to investigate the gas distribution near the BH and the properties of the central accretion disks, to measure BHmass and Eddington ratios, and to test the feasibility of using such objects as a newtype of cosmological candles. The paper presents results for three objects, Mrk 335, Mrk 142, and IRAS F12397+3333, with Hß time lags relative to the 5100Å continuum of 10.6+1.7 -2.9, 6.4+0.8 -2.2 and 11.4+2.9 -1.9 days, respectively. The corresponding BH masses are (8.3+2.6 -3.2)×106M⊙, (3.4+0.5 -1.2)×106M⊙, and (7.5+4.3 -4.1)×106M⊙, and the lower limits on the Eddington ratios are 0.6, 2.3, and 4.6 for the minimal radiative efficiency of 0.038. Mrk 142 and IRAS F12397+333 (extinction corrected) clearly deviate from the currently known relation between Hß lag and continuum luminosity. The three Eddington ratios are beyond the values expected in thin accretion disks and two of them are the largest measured so far among objects with RM-based BH masses. We briefly discuss implications for slim disks, BH growth, and cosmology.

Original languageEnglish
Article number45
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume782
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Feb 2014

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Natural Science Foundation of China11233003, 11173023, 11133006

    Keywords

    • accretion, accretion disks
    • black hole physics
    • galaxies: active

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