TY - JOUR
T1 - A first step toward constraining supermassive black-hole growth
AU - Vestergaard, Marianne
PY - 2006/11/1
Y1 - 2006/11/1
N2 - Updated scaling relations, useful for estimating black hole masses MBH of large samples of distant AGNs and quasars using a single spectrum, are presented. This is timely given the recent improvements made to the reverberation mapping mass determinations and the empirical radius-luminosity relationships on which the scaling relations rely. The redshift distribution of mass estimates of different quasar samples, based on these scaling relations, shows that luminous, distant quasars have very massive black holes MBH ≳ 109Mȯ, even at z ≳ 4. Also, there is a limit to how massive and luminous black holes can become: MBH ≲ 1010Mȯ and Lbol < 1048 erg s-1. Preliminary mass functions of active black holes out to z ≈ 4 are presented.
AB - Updated scaling relations, useful for estimating black hole masses MBH of large samples of distant AGNs and quasars using a single spectrum, are presented. This is timely given the recent improvements made to the reverberation mapping mass determinations and the empirical radius-luminosity relationships on which the scaling relations rely. The redshift distribution of mass estimates of different quasar samples, based on these scaling relations, shows that luminous, distant quasars have very massive black holes MBH ≳ 109Mȯ, even at z ≳ 4. Also, there is a limit to how massive and luminous black holes can become: MBH ≲ 1010Mȯ and Lbol < 1048 erg s-1. Preliminary mass functions of active black holes out to z ≈ 4 are presented.
KW - Black hole mass
KW - Black hole physics
KW - Quasars
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33749645151&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.newar.2006.06.039
DO - 10.1016/j.newar.2006.06.039
M3 - Review
AN - SCOPUS:33749645151
SN - 1387-6473
VL - 50
SP - 817
EP - 820
JO - New Astronomy Reviews
JF - New Astronomy Reviews
IS - 9-10
ER -