Black hole masses from X-rays

We discuss two methods to estimate black hole (BH) masses using X-ray data only: from the X-ray variability amplitude and from the photon index G. The first method is based on the anti-correlation between BH mass and X-ray variability amplitude. Using a sample of AGN with BH masses from reverberatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhou, X., Soria, Roberto
Format: Conference Paper
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/21034
Description
Summary:We discuss two methods to estimate black hole (BH) masses using X-ray data only: from the X-ray variability amplitude and from the photon index G. The first method is based on the anti-correlation between BH mass and X-ray variability amplitude. Using a sample of AGN with BH masses from reverberation mapping, we show that this method shows small intrinsic scatter. The second method is based on the correlation between G and both the Eddington ratio L bol/L Edd and the bolometric correction L bol/L 2-10keV. © International Astronomical Union 2013.