The Mass of the Black Hole in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 4593 from Reverberation Mapping

2006/08/18 by Kelly D. Denney, K. D. Denney, Misty C. Bentz +24 · 5 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Black hole (networking) #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Geometry #Light curve #Line (geometry) #Observatory #Physics #Reverberation #Reverberation mapping #Spectral line #Supermassive black hole #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/508533

published as Astrophys.J.653:152-158,2006 · 22 pages, 3 tables, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

arxiv created 2006/08/18 · openalex publication_date 2006/12/05 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

We present new observations leading to an improved black hole mass estimate for the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4593 as part of a reverberation-mapping campaign conducted at the MDM Observatory. Cross-correlation analysis of the Hβ emission-line light curve with the optical continuum light curve reveals an emission-line time delay of τ cent = 3.73 ± 0.75 days. By combining this time delay with the Hβ line width, we derive a central black hole mass of M BH = (9.8 ± 2.1) × 10 6 M ☉ , an improvement in precision of a factor of several over past results.

Citations

• A Reverberation‐based Mass for the Central Black Hole in NGC 4151
• A Hubble Space Telescope Survey of Extended [O iii ] λ5007 Emission in a Far‐Infrared Selected Sample of Seyfert Galaxies: Observations
• Optical Continuum and Emission‐Line Variability of Seyfert 1 Galaxies
• Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Calibration of the Black Hole Mass–Velocity Dispersion Relationship for Active Galactic Nuclei
• Variability of FeiiEmission Features in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy NGC 5548
• Central Masses and Broad‐Line Region Sizes of Active Galactic Nuclei. II. A Homogeneous Analysis of a Large Reverberation‐Mapping Database
• Reverberation Measurements of the Inner Radius of the Dust Torus in Nearby Seyfert 1 Galaxies

Cited by

• An expanded Mbh-σ diagram, and a new calibration of active galactic nuclei masses
• First Stellar Velocity Dispersion Measurement of a Luminous Quasar Host with Gemini North Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics
• RECALIBRATION OF THE VIRIAL FACTOR AND M BH -σ * RELATION FOR LOCAL ACTIVE GALAXIES
• Optical spectral index–luminosity relation for the 17 mapped Palomar–Green quasars
• High‐energy monitoring of Seyfert galaxies: The case of NGC 4593