The First Multi-Object Reverberation Mapping Survey: Transforming Our Knowledge of Distant Black Hole Demographics

天体物理学中的一个长期问题是了解星系在其一生中是如何形成和发展的。这样的理解对于揭示我们的宇宙是如何进化的以及洞察我们银河系的起源是必要的。了解星系形成和演化的一个重要方面是研究星系中心的超大质量黑洞(SMBH)和活动星系核(AGN)。该项目的研究人员将使用通过斯隆数字天空勘测多目标混响测绘项目(SDSS-RM)获得的开创性的新数据集来转变我们对黑洞人口统计和可观测宇宙中活动星系核物理的知识。这个项目将产生第一组可靠的混响映射(RM)黑洞质量(MBH)，其中包括距离地球非常远(红移z为0.3)的目标；这些RM结果将使我们能够调查SMBH的增长是领先还是落后于星系恒星的形成，并更准确地表征活动星系核的增长和反馈的物理规律。此外，研究人员将使用SDSS-RM数据为参加宾夕法尼亚州立大学埃伯利科学学院夏季研究体验的高中生设计和执行一个夏季研究计划。这项计划是与宾夕法尼亚州立大学向上绑定数学和科学中心合作实施的，目标是宾夕法尼亚州服务不足的学区的学生。研究人员将为低收入学生提供与科学家互动的机会，并学习基本的天文数据分析。该项目将为博士后提供指导经验，他们将指导宾夕法尼亚州立大学的学生领导研讨会。这位宾夕法尼亚州立大学的学生反过来将通过指导参与该项目的高中生来获得经验。两位教师合作者将指导参与的博士后；研究人员将使用SDSS-RM数据来完成以下工作：(1)测量100个类星体的黑洞质量，将现有样本量增加两倍，并将其扩展到覆盖先前RM调查遗漏的类星体参数空间中的大范围(在红移、光度和发射线性质方面)，(2)利用这些黑洞质量来显著提高我们对用于表征超大质量黑洞(SMBH)质量人口统计学的黑洞/星系标度关系的理解，以及(3)使用各种发射线的响应和速度分辨混响方法来表征宽线发射区的结构和物理特性。与以前的工作不同，以前的工作受到高度不确定的MBH值的限制，这些值导致对SMBH-星系关系任何可能的演化的基本上不受限制的估计，SDSS-RM数据集将通过第一次研究MBH-宿主星系关联的内在散射的演化来区分因果或巧合的共同进化。宽线区域在不同发射线上的响应将为支配和调节活动星系核和SMBH/星系演化的物理机制提供重要的见解。

A longstanding problem in astrophysics is to understand how galaxies form and develop throughout their lifetimes. Such understanding is necessary to uncover how our Universe evolved and to gain insight into the origin of our own Milky Way Galaxy. One important aspect of understanding galaxy formation and evolution is to study supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the centers of galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The investigators in this project will use a pioneering new data set acquired through the Sloan Digital Sky Survey multi-object reverberation mapping project (SDSS-RM) to transform our knowledge of black hole demographics and the physics of AGNs across the observable Universe. This project will yield the first set of reliable reverberation-mapping (RM) black hole masses (MBH) that includes targets at very large distances from Earth (with redshifts z 0.3); these RM results will allow us to investigate whether SMBH growth leads or lags galaxy star formation and to more accurately characterize the physics regulating the growth and feedback of AGNs.In addition, the investigators will use SDSS-RM data to design and execute a summer research program for high school students participating in Penn State's Summer Research Experience in the Eberly College of Science. This program is operated in collaboration with Penn State's Upward Bound Math and Science center and targets students from underserved school districts in Pennsylvania. The investigators will provide low-income students with the opportunity to interact with scientists and to learn basic astronomy data analysis. This program will provide mentoring experience for postdocs, who will supervise the Penn State student leading the workshop. This Penn State student will in turn gain experience by mentoring the high school students participating in the program. Both faculty collaborators will mentor the participating postdocs; this will give them the opportunity to teach, strategically plan for future career goals, and become leaders in large-scale time-domain spectroscopic research.The investigators will use the SDSS-RM data to accomplish the following: (1) Measure black hole masses for 100 quasars, tripling the existing sample size and expanding it to cover the broad range in quasar parameter space missed by previous RM surveys (in redshift, luminosity, and emission-line properties), (2) Employ these black hole masses to improve substantially our understanding of black-hole/galaxy scaling relations used to characterize supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass demographics, and (3) Characterize the structure and physics of the broad line-emitting region using the responses of various emission lines and velocity-resolved reverberation methods. Unlike previous work, which was limited by highly uncertain MBH values that resulted in largely unconstrained estimates of any possible evolution of SMBH-galaxy relationships, the SDSS-RM data set will distinguish between causal or coincidental coevolution by enabling the first study of evolution in the intrinsic scatter of the MBH-host galaxy correlations. The response of the broad line region across various emission lines will provide crucial insights regarding the physics governing and regulating AGN and SMBH/galaxy evolution.