CIV and CIII] reverberation mapping of the luminous quasar PG 1247+267

TL;DR

This study presents reverberation mapping results for the most luminous quasar PG 1247+267, measuring emission line lags to estimate black hole mass and ionization structure, revealing similarities with lower luminosity active galactic nuclei.

Contribution

First reverberation mapping of CIV and CIII] lines in a highly luminous quasar, providing new insights into ionization stratification and black hole mass estimation at high luminosity.

Findings

Line emission region size ratio R_CIII]/R_CIV ~ 2

Estimated small black hole mass and high Eddington ratio

Possible influence of gravitational lensing on luminosity measurements

Abstract

So far the masses of about 50 active galactic nuclei have been measured through the reverberation mapping technique (RM). Most measurements have been performed for objects of moderate luminosity and redshift, based on H$\beta$, which is also used to calibrate the scaling relation which allows single-epoch (SE) mass determination based on AGN luminosity and the width of different emission lines. The SE mass obtained from CIV$(1549 {\rm\AA})$ line shows a large spread around mean values, due to complex structure and gas dynamics of the relevant emission region. Direct RM measures of CIV exist for only 6 AGNs of low luminosity and redshift, and only one luminous quasar (Kaspi et al 2007). We have collected since 2003 photometric and spectroscopic observations of PG1247+267, the most luminous quasar ever analyzed for RM. We provide light curves for the continuum and for CIV$(1549 {\rm\AA})$ and CIII]$(1909{\rm\AA})$, and measures of the reverberation time lags based on the SPEAR method (Zu et al. 2011). The sizes of the line emission regions are in a ratio $R_{CIII]}/R_{CIV}\sim 2$, similar to the case of Seyfert galaxies, indicating for the first time a similar ionization stratification in a luminous quasar and low luminosity nuclei. Due to relatively small broad line region size and relatively narrow line widths, we estimate a small mass and an anomalously high Eddington ratio. We discuss the possibility that either the shape of the emission region or an amplification of the luminosity caused by gravitational lensing may be in part responsible of the result.