First Results from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project: The Mass of the Black Hole in Arp 151

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Published 2008 November 3 © 2008. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
, , Citation Misty C. Bentz et al 2008 ApJ 689 L21 DOI 10.1086/595719

1538-4357/689/1/L21

Abstract

We have recently completed a 64 night spectroscopic monitoring campaign at the Lick Observatory 3 m Shane telescope with the aim of measuring the masses of the black holes in 13 nearby (z < 0.05) Seyfert 1 galaxies with expected masses in the range ~106-107 M. We present here the first results from this project—the mass of the central black hole in Arp 151. Strong variability throughout the campaign led to an exceptionally clean Hβ lag measurement in this object of 4.25−0.66+0.68 days in the observed frame. Coupled with the width of the Hβ emission line in the variable spectrum, we determine a black hole mass of (7.1 ± 1.2) × 106 M, assuming the Onken et al. normalization for reverberation-based virial masses. We also find velocity-resolved lag information within the Hβ emission line which clearly shows infalling gas in the Hβ-emitting region. Further detailed analysis may lead to a full model of the geometry and kinematics of broad line region gas around the central black hole in Arp 151.

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10.1086/595719