High-Ionization Mid-Infrared Lines as Black Hole Mass and Bolometric Luminosity Indicators in Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

We present relations of the black hole mass and the optical luminositywith the velocity dispersion and the luminosity of the [Ne V] and the [OIV] high-ionization lines in the mid-infrared (MIR) for 28reverberation-mapped active galactic nuclei. We used high-resolutionSpitzer Infrared Spectrograph and Infrared Space Observatory ShortWavelength Spectrometer data to fit the profiles of these MIR emissionlines that originate from the narrow-line region of the nucleus. We findthat the lines are often resolved and that the velocity dispersion of[Ne V] and [O IV] follows a relation similar to that between the blackhole mass and the bulge stellar velocity dispersion found for localgalaxies. The luminosity of the [Ne V] and the [O IV] lines in thesesources is correlated with that of the optical 5100 Å continuumand with the black hole mass. Our results provide a means to deriveblack hole properties in various types of active galactic nuclei,including highly obscured systems.