Diverse Kinematic Signatures from Reverberation Mapping of the Broad-Line Region in AGNs
Abstract
A detailed analysis of the data from a high sampling rate, multi-month reverberation mapping campaign, undertaken primarily at MDM Observatory with supporting observations from telescopes around the world, reveals that the Hβ emission region within the broad-line regions (BLRs) of several nearby active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exhibits a variety of kinematic behaviors. While the primary goal of this campaign was to obtain either new or improved Hβ reverberation lag measurements for several relatively low-luminosity AGNs, we were also able to unambiguously reconstruct velocity-resolved reverberation signals from a subset of our targets. Through high cadence spectroscopic monitoring of the optical continuum and broad Hβ emission-line variations observed in the nuclear regions of NGC 3227, NGC 3516, and NGC 5548, we clearly see evidence for outflowing, infalling, and virialized BLR gas motions, respectively.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 2009
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/704/2/L80
- arXiv:
- arXiv:0908.0327
- Bibcode:
- 2009ApJ...704L..80D
- Keywords:
-
- galaxies: active;
- galaxies: nuclei;
- galaxies: Seyfert;
- Astrophysics - Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL