Related papers: Iron-corrected Single-epoch Black Hole Masses of D…
We present new near-infrared (IR) observations of the H$\beta\ \lambda4861$ and MgII $\lambda2798$ lines for 32 luminous quasars with $3.2<z<3.9$ using the Palomar Hale 200 inch telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope. We find that the…
We investigated a sample of 15 luminous high-redshift quasars (3.3 < z < 5.1) to measure the mass of their super-massive black holes (SMBH) and compare, for the first time, results based on CIV, MgII, and Hbeta emission lines at…
The presence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs, $M_\text{BH}\sim10^9 M_\odot$) at $z>7$ remains a puzzle. While their existence appears to require exotic formation or growth processes, it is possible that BH mass estimates are incorrect…
We present the results of new infrared spectroscopic observations of 37 quasars at z~3, selected based on the optical r'-band magnitude and the availability of nearby bright stars for future imaging follow-up with Adaptive Optics system.…
Presently, it is unclear whether the Eddington ratio and radiative efficiency depend upon a supermassive black hole's (SMBH's) redshift z and mass MBH. We attempt to resolve this issue using published data for 132,000 SMBHs with MBH >1E+7…
We present near-infrared spectra of ten luminous, intermediate redshift quasars observed with SofI at the NTT of ESO/La Silla. With these rest-frame optical spectra we probe the Hb -[OIII] emission line region. Using the standard scaling…
Quasars (QSOs) emit an enormous amount of light as a result of the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Thanks to their luminosity, the most distant known QSOs allow us to trace the growth of SMBHs deep into the epoch of…
It remains debatable how billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form and evolve within the first billion years. We report results from a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU) survey of 27 luminous…
We analyze spectra for a large sample of 578 Active Galactic Nuclei to examine the relationships between broad emission line properties and central supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass. We estimate SMBH masses by applying the virial theorem…
[abridged] Quasars (QSOs) at the highest known redshift (z~6) are unique probes of the early growth of supermassive black holes (BHs). Until now, only the most luminous QSOs have been studied, often one object at a time. Here we present the…
We provide a catalog of 391 mid-infrared-selected (MIR, 24$\mu$m) broad-emission-line (BEL, type 1) quasars in the 22 deg$^2$ SWIRE Lockman Hole field. This quasar sample is selected in the MIR from Spitzer MIPS with $S_{\rm 24} >…
We compile black hole (BH) masses for $\sim 60,000$ quasars in the redshift range $0.1 \lesssim z \lesssim 4.5$ included in the Fifth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), using virial BH mass estimators based on the \hbeta,…
We present the analysis of a new near-infrared (NIR) spectrum of a recently discovered $z=6.621$ quasar PSO J006+39 in an attempt to explore the early growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). This NIR (rest-frame ultraviolet, UV)…
We present discovery observations of a quasar in the Canada-France High-z Quasar Survey (CFHQS) at redshift z=6.44. We also use near-IR spectroscopy of nine CFHQS quasars at z~6 to determine black hole masses. These are compared with…
Observations of high-redshift quasars hosting billion solar mass black holes at $z\gtrsim6$ challenge our understanding of early supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth. In this work, we conduct a near-infrared spectroscopic study of $19$…
We investigate the constraints on models of supermassive black hole (SMBH) and quasar formation obtainable from two recent observational developments: the discovery of luminous quasars at z~6, and estimates of the local mass density of…
We employ a flexible Bayesian technique to estimate the black hole mass and Eddington ratio functions for Type 1 (i.e., broad line) quasars from a uniformly-selected data set of ~58,000 quasars from the SDSS DR7. We find that the SDSS…
In the local universe, the masses of Super-Massive Black-Holes (SMBH) appear to correlate with physical properties of their hosts, including the mass of the dark-matter halos. At higher redshifts, we observe the growth of SMBHs indirectly…
Type 2 quasars are an important constituent of active galaxies, possibly representing the evolutionary precursors of traditionally studied type 1 quasars. We characterize the black hole mass ($M_{\rm BH}$) and Eddington ratio ($L_{\rm…
We investigate the sensitivity of the colour-based quasar selection algorithm of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to several key physical parameters of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), focusing on BH spin ($a_{\star}$) at the high BH-mass…