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arXiv · 1404.6156

On the Performance of Quasar Reverberation Mapping in the Era of Time-Domain Photometric Surveys

Doron Chelouche·Ohad Shemmer·Gabriel I. Cotlier·Aaron J. Barth·Stephen E. Rafter
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Abstract

We quantitatively assess, by means of comprehensive numerical simulations, the ability of broad-band photometric surveys to recover the broad emission line region (BLR) size in quasars under various observing conditions and for a wide range of object properties. Focusing on the general characteristics of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), we find that the slope of the size-luminosity relation for the BLR in quasars can be determined with unprecedented accuracy, of order a few percent, over a broad luminosity range and out to $z\sim 3$. In particular, major emission lines for which the BLR size can be reliably measured with LSST include H$α$, MgII $λ2799$, CIII] $λ1909$, CIV $λ1549$, and Ly$α$, amounting to a total of $\gtrsim 10^5$ time-delay measurements for all transitions. Combined with an estimate for the emission line velocity dispersion, upcoming photometric surveys will facilitate the estimation of black hole masses in AGN over a broad range of luminosities and redshifts, allow for refined calibrations of BLR size-luminosity-redshift relations in different transitions, as well as lead to more reliable cross-calibration with other black hole mass estimation techniques.

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Doron Chelouche, Ohad Shemmer, Gabriel I. Cotlier, Aaron J. Barth, Stephen E. Rafter. 2014-04-24. On the Performance of Quasar Reverberation Mapping in the Era of Time-Domain Photometric Surveys. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x%2F785%2F2%2F140

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