The BRAVE Program - I: Improved Bulge Stellar Velocity Dispersion Estimates for a Sample of Active Galaxies

TL;DR

This study provides improved measurements of bulge stellar velocity dispersions in 10 active galaxies using integral-field spectroscopy, enhancing the accuracy of black hole mass estimates and revealing kinematic substructures.

Contribution

It introduces spatially resolved kinematic measurements for active galaxies, improving velocity dispersion estimates and highlighting the presence of kinematic substructures.

Findings

Secure velocity dispersion measurements within the effective radius for all targets.

Detection of kinematic substructures in most galaxies.

Potential for future correction methods for kinematic substructure effects.

Abstract

We present new bulge stellar velocity dispersion measurements for 10 active galaxies with secure $M_{BH}$ determinations from reverberation-mapping. These new velocity dispersion measurements are based on spatially resolved kinematics from integral-field (IFU) spectroscopy. In all but one case, the field of view of the IFU extends beyond the effective radius of the galaxy, and in the case of Mrk 79 the field of view extends to almost one half the effective radius. This combination of spatial resolution and field of view allows for secure determinations of stellar velocity dispersion within the effective radius for all 10 target galaxies. Spatially resolved maps of the first (V) and second ($\sigma_{\star}$) moments of the line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) indicate the presence of kinematic substructure in most cases. In future projects we plan to explore methods of correcting for the effects of kinematic substructure in the derived bulge stellar velocity dispersion measurements.