Probing the Central Engine in Active Galactic Nuclei

这个项目将探索活动星系核的内部结构，利用连续体和发射在线变异性来确定中心黑洞的质量，以探测吸积盘/宽线区域环境中的物理过程。目前正在进行的测量活动星系核宿主星系中膨胀速度色散的计划将被扩展，以测试黑洞质量和膨胀速度色散之间的关系是否在活动星系和静止星系中相同。这种关系将用于估计未测量混响质量的局部agn的质量，最初集中在无线电响亮的agn和窄线Seyfert 1星系上，这些天体在混响图样本中没有很好地表示。将为多波长监测项目提供地面光学支持，特别是长期存在的对Seyfert 1星系NGC 5548进行充分研究的光学分光光度测定项目。

AST 0205964Peterson, B MThis program will explore the very inner structure of active galactic nuclei, to determine masses of the central black holes using continuum and emission-line variability to probe the physical processes in the accretion-disk/broad-line region environment. The current program in progress to measure the bulge velocity dispersions in the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei will be expanded to test whether the relationship between the black-hole mass and bulge velocity dispersion is the same for active galaxies and quiescent galaxies. This relationship will be used to estimate masses for local AGNs for which reverberation masses have not been measured, concentrating initially on radio-loud AGNs and narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies, objects that are not well represented in reverberation-mapped samples. Optical ground-based support for multiwavelength monitoring programs will be provided, in particular a long-standing program of optical spectrophotometry on the well-studied Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548.