On the Performance of Quasar Reverberation Mapping in the Era of Time-Domain Photometric Surveys

Original · EN

We quantitatively assess, by means of comprehensive numerical simulations, the ability of broad-band photometric surveys to recover the broad emission line region (BLR) size in quasars under various observing conditions and for a wide range of object properties. Focusing on the general characteristics of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), we find that the slope of the size-luminosity relation for the BLR in quasars can be determined with unprecedented accuracy, of order a few percent, over a broad luminosity range and out to z 3. In particular, major emission lines for which the BLR size can be reliably measured with LSST include Hα, MgII λ2799, CIII] λ1909, CIV λ1549, and Lyα, amounting to a total of 10⁵ time-delay measurements for all transitions. Combined with an estimate for the emission line velocity dispersion, upcoming photometric surveys will facilitate the estimation of black hole masses in AGN over a broad range of luminosities and redshifts, allow for refined calibrations of BLR size-luminosity-redshift relations in different transitions, as well as lead to more reliable cross-calibration with other black hole mass estimation techniques.