2026/07/16 by Morgan Micharski, Chris Richardson
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph.GA
We propose using H2 emission lines as a novel diagnostic to identify dwarf AGN by running photoionization models incorporating active intermediate-mass black holes and using an observed WISE dwarf AGN as a template. Though many dwarf AGN would be incorrectly classified as star-forming if the H2~2.12~μm/Brγ ratio is used, ratios between H2 emission lines can reveal active IMBHs in cases where log nH \gtrsim 4.0. This includes the case where MBH = 103~M\odot, even though the optical strong lines and NIR coronal lines would likely go undetected. We conclude that H2 emission lines show promise in detecting the most elusive IMBHs.