Black-hole masses of distant quasars
Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport › Bidrag til bog/antologi › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Standard
Black-hole masses of distant quasars. / Vestergaard, Marianne.
Black Holes. Cambridge University Press, 2011. s. 150-172 ( Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium Series, Bind 21).Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport › Bidrag til bog/antologi › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
Harvard
APA
Vancouver
Author
Bibtex
}
RIS
TY - CHAP
T1 - Black-hole masses of distant quasars
AU - Vestergaard, Marianne
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - A brief overview of the methods commonly used to determine or estimate the black hole mass in quiescent or active galaxies is presented and it is argued that the use of mass-scaling relations is both a reliable and the preferred method to apply to large samples of distant quasars. The method uses spectroscopic measurements of a broad emission-line width and continuum luminosity and currently has a statistical 1 sigma uncertainty in the absolute mass values of about a factor of 4. Potentially, this accuracy can be improved in the future. When applied to large samples of distant quasars it is evident that the black hole masses are very large, of order 1 to 10 billion solar masses, even at the highest redshifts of 4 to 6. The black holes must build up their mass very fast in the early universe. Yet they do not grow much larger than that: a maximum mass of about 10 billion solar masses is also observed. Preliminary mass functions of active black holes are presented for several quasar samples, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Finally, common concerns related to the application of the mass scaling relations, especially for high redshift quasars, are briefly discussed.
AB - A brief overview of the methods commonly used to determine or estimate the black hole mass in quiescent or active galaxies is presented and it is argued that the use of mass-scaling relations is both a reliable and the preferred method to apply to large samples of distant quasars. The method uses spectroscopic measurements of a broad emission-line width and continuum luminosity and currently has a statistical 1 sigma uncertainty in the absolute mass values of about a factor of 4. Potentially, this accuracy can be improved in the future. When applied to large samples of distant quasars it is evident that the black hole masses are very large, of order 1 to 10 billion solar masses, even at the highest redshifts of 4 to 6. The black holes must build up their mass very fast in the early universe. Yet they do not grow much larger than that: a maximum mass of about 10 billion solar masses is also observed. Preliminary mass functions of active black holes are presented for several quasar samples, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Finally, common concerns related to the application of the mass scaling relations, especially for high redshift quasars, are briefly discussed.
M3 - Book chapter
T3 - Space Telescope Science Institute Symposium Series
SP - 150
EP - 172
BT - Black Holes
PB - Cambridge University Press
ER -
ID: 44215461