Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2004-03-14
Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 350 (2004) L26
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
5 pages, 1 figure, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter. Added minor change on page 5 - corrected mistake (1/T <
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07829.x
We propose a new method of estimation of the black hole masses in AGN based on the normalized excess variance, sigma_{nxs}^2. We derive a relation between sigma_{nxs}^2, the length of the observation, T, the light curve bin size, Delta t, and the black hole mass, assuming that (i) the power spectrum above the high frequency break, f_{bf}, has a slope of -2, (ii) the high frequency break scales with black hole mass, (iii) the power spectrum amplitude (in 'frequency x power' space) is universal and (iv) sigma_{nxs}^2 is calculated from observations of length T < 1/f_{bf}. Values of black hole masses in AGN obtained with this method are consistent with estimates based on other techniques such as reverberation mapping or the Mbh-stellar velocity dispersion relation. The method is formally equivalent to methods based on power spectrum scaling with mass but the use of the normalized excess variance has the big advantage of being applicable to relatively low quality data.
Czerny Bozena
Nikolajuk Marek
Papadakis Iossif E.
No associations
LandOfFree
Black hole mass estimation from X-ray variability measurements in AGN does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Black hole mass estimation from X-ray variability measurements in AGN, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Black hole mass estimation from X-ray variability measurements in AGN will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-701140