Program: GS-2006A-Q-14

Title:Mapping AGN Emission Line Regions and Black Hole Masses
PI:Rachel Webster
Co-I(s): Randall Wayth, Matthew O'Dowd, Joachim Wambsganss, Janine Heinmueller, Robert Schmidt, Stuart Wyithe, Kathleen Labrie, Rodrigo Gil-Merino, Geraint Lewis, Nick Bate

Abstract

We are developing a radically new method to image the geometry of the continuum and broad emission line regions of gravitationally-lensed quasars. Already we have new results from our only dataset, which provide measurements of the size and relative location of the central quasar emitting regions. The method is based on differential microlensing of different-sized emitting regions for each of the macro-images in a multiply-imaged quasar. Extensive numerical modelling determines a statistical estimate of the geometric sizes of the BELRs of several lines and the continuumsource. Combined with the line widths, we are then able to measure the masses of the AGN BHs, and in particular, the evolution of these masses with redshift.

Publications using this program's data