Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2003-11-12
Astron.Astrophys.412:L61-L64,2003
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages, 6 figures, in press in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters
Scientific paper
10.1051/0004-6361:20034611
Accretion of gas onto a central supermassive black hole is generally accepted to be the source of the emitted energy in active galactic nuclei.The broad emission lines we observe in their optical spectra are probably formed in the wind of an accretion disk at distances of light days to light years from the central black hole. The variable fraction of the emission lines originates at typical distances of only 1 to 50 light days from the central supermassive black hole. We derived a central black hole mass of M_orbital = 1.8 +/-0.4 x 10^7 M_sun in the Seyfert galaxy Mrk110 assuming the broad emission lines are generated in gas clouds orbiting within an accretion disk. This figure depends on the inclination angle of the accretion disk. Here we report on the detection of gravitational redshifted emission in the variable fraction of the broad emission lines. We derive a central black hole mass of M_grav = 14.0 +/-3.0 x 10^7 M_sun. These measurements are independent on the orientation of the accretion disk. The comparison of both black hole mass estimates allows to determine the projection of the central accretion disk angle i to 21 +/-5 deg. in Mrk110 and therefore the orientation of the spin axis of the central black hole.
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