Open AccessThe BH mass of nearby QSOs: a comparison of the bulge luminosity and virial methods
Author(s) -
Labita M.,
Treves A.,
Falomo R.,
Uslenghi M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2006.10878.x
Subject(s) - physics , qsos , astrophysics , virial theorem , galaxy , redshift , active galactic nucleus , quasar , virial mass , astronomy , bulge , black hole (networking) , luminosity , computer network , routing protocol , routing (electronic design automation) , computer science , link state routing protocol
We report on the analysis of the photometric and spectroscopic properties of a sample of 29 low‐redshift ( z < 0.6) QSOs for which both Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) WFPC2 images and ultraviolet HST FOS spectra are available. For each object we measure the R ‐band absolute magnitude of the host galaxy, the C iv (1550 Å) linewidth and the 1350 Å continuum luminosity. From these quantities we can estimate the black hole (BH) mass through the M BH – L bulge relation for inactive galaxies, and from the virial method based on the kinematics of the regions emitting the broad‐lines. The comparison of the masses derived from the two methods yields information on the geometry of the gas emitting regions bound to the massive BH. The cumulative distribution of the linewidths is consistent with that produced by matter laying in planes with inclinations uniformly distributed between ∼10° and ∼50°, which corresponds to a geometrical factor f ∼ 1.3 . Our results are compared with those of the literature and discussed within the unified model of active galactic nuclei.