Estimation of the size and structure of the broad line region using Bayesian approach
- Title
- Estimation of the size and structure of the broad line region using Bayesian approach
- Creator
- Mandal A.K.; Rakshit S.; Stalin C.S.; Petrov R.G.; Mathew B.; Sagar R.
- Description
- Understanding the geometry and kinematics of the broad line region (BLR) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is important to estimate black hole masses in AGN and study the accretion process. The technique of reverberation mapping (RM) has provided estimates of BLR size for more than 100 AGN now; however, the structure of the BLR has been studied for only a handful number of objects. Towards this, we investigated the geometry of the BLR for a large sample of 57 AGN using archival RM data. We performed systematic modelling of the continuum and emission line light curves using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method based on Bayesian statistics implemented in PBMAP (Parallel Bayesian code for reverberation-MAPping data) code to constrain BLR geometrical parameters and recover velocity integrated transfer function. We found that the recovered transfer functions have various shapes such as single-peaked, double-peaked, and top-hat suggesting that AGN have very different BLR geometries. Our model lags are in general consistent with that estimated using the conventional cross-correlation methods. The BLR sizes obtained from our modelling approach is related to the luminosity with a slope of 0.583 0.026 and 0.471 0.084 based on H ? and H ? lines, respectively. We found a non-linear response of emission line fluxes to the ionizing optical continuum for 93 per cent objects. The estimated virial factors for the AGN studied in this work range from 0.79 to 4.94 having a mean at 1.78 1.77 consistent with the values found in the literature. 2021 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
- Source
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol-502, No. 2, pp. 2140-2157.
- Date
- 2021-01-01
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Subject
- galaxies: active; galaxies: nuclei; galaxies: photometry; galaxies: Seyfert
- Coverage
- Mandal A.K., Department of Physics, Christ (Deemed to Be University), Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560 029, India, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Block Ii, Koramangala, Bangalore, 560 034, India; Rakshit S., Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital, 263002, India, Finnish Centre for Astronomy with Eso (FINCA), University of Turku, Quantum, Vesilinnantie 5, University of Turku, 20014, Finland; Stalin C.S., Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Block Ii, Koramangala, Bangalore, 560 034, India; Petrov R.G., Observatoire de la Ce d'Azur, Cnrs, Laboratoire Lagrange, UniversitCe d'Azur, Parc Valrose, B. H. Fizeau, Nice, F-06108, France; Mathew B., Department of Physics, Christ (Deemed to Be University), Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560 029, India; Sagar R., Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Block Ii, Koramangala, Bangalore, 560 034, India
- Rights
- All Open Access; Green Open Access
- Relation
- ISSN: 358711; CODEN: MNRAA
- Format
- Online
- Language
- English
- Type
- Article
Collection
Citation
Mandal A.K.; Rakshit S.; Stalin C.S.; Petrov R.G.; Mathew B.; Sagar R., “Estimation of the size and structure of the broad line region using Bayesian approach,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed February 27, 2025, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/15805.