The SOUX AGN Sample: SDSS-XMM-Newton Optical, Ultraviolet and X-ray selected active galactic nuclei spanning a wide range of parameter space -- Sample definition

TL;DR

This study compiles a diverse sample of 696 type 1 AGN with multiwavelength data to analyze black hole masses, spectral energy distributions, and the relationships between UV and X-ray properties across different AGN types.

Contribution

It provides new single-epoch black hole mass relations, compares spectral energy distributions with models, and examines how UV/X-ray properties vary among AGN subclasses.

Findings

Black hole mass estimates are consistent across different emission lines.

Most AGN have Eddington ratios between 0.02 and 2.

Radio-loud AGN exhibit systematically harder X-ray spectra.

Abstract

We assemble a sample of 696 type 1 AGN up to a redshift of $z=2.5$, all of which have an SDSS spectrum containing at least one broad emission line (H $\alpha$, H $\beta$ or Mg II) and an XMM-Newton X-ray spectrum containing at least 250 counts in addition to simultaneous optical/ultraviolet photometry from the XMM Optical Monitor. Our sample includes quasars and narrow-line Seyfert 1s: thus our AGN span a wide range in luminosity, black hole mass and accretion rate. We determine single-epoch black hole mass relations for the three emission lines and find that they provide broadly consistent mass estimates whether the continuum or emission line luminosity is used as the proxy for the broad emission line region radius. We explore variations of the UV/X-ray energy index $\alpha_\mathrm{ox}$ with the UV continuum luminosity and with black hole mass and accretion rate, and make comparisons to the physical quasar spectral energy distribution (SED) model QSOSED. The majority of the AGN in our sample lie in a region of parameter space with $0.02<L/L_\mathrm{Edd}<2$ as defined by this model, with narrow-line type 1 AGN offset to lower masses and higher accretion rates than typical broad-line quasars. We find differences in the dependence of $\alpha_\mathrm{ox}$ on UV luminosity between both narrow/broad-line and radio-loud/quiet subsets of AGN: $\alpha_\mathrm{ox}$ has a slightly weaker dependence on UV luminosity for broad-line AGN and radio-loud AGN have systematically harder $\alpha_\mathrm{ox}$.