The Low-mass, Highly Accreting Black Hole Associated with the Active Galactic Nucleus 2XMM J123103.2+110648

TL;DR

This paper confirms the presence of a low-mass, highly accreting black hole in an active galaxy, using optical and X-ray data, revealing a rare example of such a small black hole with high accretion rate.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed optical confirmation and mass estimate of a low-mass black hole in an active galaxy with high accretion, based on spectral and imaging data.

Findings

Black hole mass estimated at ~10^5 solar masses

Black hole accretion rate exceeds 50% of Eddington limit

Host galaxy is a small, low-mass disk galaxy

Abstract

Optical spectra and images taken with the Baade 6.5 meter Magellan telescope confirm that 2XMM J123103.2+110648, a highly variable X-ray source with an unusually soft spectrum, is indeed associated with a type 2 (narrow-line) active nucleus at a redshift of z = 0.11871. The absence of broad Halpha or Hbeta emission in an otherwise X-ray unabsorbed source suggests that it intrinsically lacks a broad-line region. If, as in other active galaxies, the ionized gas and stars in J1231+1106 are in approximate virial equilibrium, and the black hole mass versus stellar velocity dispersion relation holds, the exceptionally small velocity dispersion of 33.5 km/s for [O III] 5007 implies that the black hole mass is approximately 10^5 solar masses, among the lowest ever detected. Such a low black hole mass is consistent with the general characteristics of the host, a small, low-luminosity, low-mass disk galaxy. We estimate the Eddington ratio of the black hole to be > 0.5, in good agreement with expectations based on the X-ray properties of the source.