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Wayne State University

NGC 5548

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Astrophysics and Astronomy

Ngc 5548 In A Low-Luminosity State: Implications For The Broad-Line Region, Misty C. Bentz, Kelly D. Denney, Edward M. Cackett, Matthias Dietrich, Jeffery K. J. Fogel, Himel Ghosh, Keith Horne, Charles Kuehn, Takeo Minezaki, Christopher A. Onken, Bradley M. Peterson, Richard W. Pogge, Vladimir I. Pronik, Douglas O. Richstone, Sergey G. Sergeev, Marianne Vestergaard, Matthew G. Walker, Yuzuru Yoshii Jun 2007

Ngc 5548 In A Low-Luminosity State: Implications For The Broad-Line Region, Misty C. Bentz, Kelly D. Denney, Edward M. Cackett, Matthias Dietrich, Jeffery K. J. Fogel, Himel Ghosh, Keith Horne, Charles Kuehn, Takeo Minezaki, Christopher A. Onken, Bradley M. Peterson, Richard W. Pogge, Vladimir I. Pronik, Douglas O. Richstone, Sergey G. Sergeev, Marianne Vestergaard, Matthew G. Walker, Yuzuru Yoshii

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

We describe results from a new ground-based monitoring campaign on NGC 5548, the best-studied reverberation-mapped AGN. We find that it was in the lowest luminosity state yet recorded during a monitoring program, namely L5100=4.7×1042 ergs s-1. We determine a rest-frame time lag between flux variations in the continuum and the Hβ line of 6.3+2.6-2.3 days. Combining our measurements with those of previous campaigns, we determine a weighted black hole mass of MBH=6.54+0.26-0.25×107 Msolar based on all broad emission lines with suitable variability data. We confirm the …


Photoionized HΒ Emission In Ngc 5548: It Breathes!, Edward M. Cackett, Keith Horne Feb 2006

Photoionized HΒ Emission In Ngc 5548: It Breathes!, Edward M. Cackett, Keith Horne

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Research Publications

Emission-line regions in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and other photoionized nebulae should become larger in size when the ionizing luminosity increases. This `breathing' effect is observed for the Hβ emission in NGC 5548 by using Hβ and optical continuum light curves from the 13-yr (1989-2001) AGN Watch monitoring campaign. To model the breathing, we use two methods to fit the observed light curves in detail: (i) parametrized models and, (ii) the MEMECHO reverberation-mapping code. Our models assume that optical continuum variations track the ionizing radiation, and that the Hβ variations respond with time-delays τ due to light travel-time. By fitting …