EFFECTS OF BIASES IN VIRIAL MASS ESTIMATION ON COSMIC SYNCHRONIZATION OF QUASAR ACCRETION
- IPMU, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa-shi, Chiba (Japan)
Recent work using virial mass estimates and the quasar mass-luminosity plane has yielded several new puzzles regarding quasar accretion, including a sub-Eddington boundary (SEB) on most quasar accretion, near-independence of the accretion rate from properties of the host galaxy, and a cosmic synchronization of accretion among black holes of a common mass. We consider how these puzzles might change if virial mass estimation turns out to have a systematic bias. As examples, we consider two recent claims of mass-dependent biases in Mg II masses. Under any such correction, the surprising cosmic synchronization of quasar accretion rates and independence from the host galaxy remain. The slope and location of the SEB are very sensitive to biases in virial mass estimation, and various mass calibrations appear to favor different possible physical explanations for feedback between the central black hole and its environment. The alternative mass estimators considered do not simply remove puzzling quasar behavior, but rather replace it with new puzzles that may be more difficult to solve than those using current virial mass estimators and the Shen et al. catalog.
- OSTI ID:
- 21582864
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 738, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/738/1/110; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF BROAD-LINE QUASARS IN THE MASS-LUMINOSITY PLANE. I. TESTING FWHM-BASED VIRIAL BLACK HOLE MASSES
On the Cosmological Evolution of the Luminosity Function and the Accretion Rate of Quasars