To study the cosmic history of accretion, two reliable measurements are crucial:black hole mass and bolometric luminosity. Our SDSS Reverberation Mapping (RM)program is the first multi-object spectroscopic RM campaign, providingsignificantly improved BH mass estimates for a large sample of quasars toredshift 4 in a single field of 7 square degrees. Now with XMM-Newton, we willcharacterize the X-ray emission for about 700 of these quasars, enhancingmeasurements of bolometric luminosity and therefore Eddington ratio. From X-raybrightness, power-law slopes, and variability characteristics within the sample,we will also test accretion models in correlations that extend across the massrange, from Galactic X-ray binaries to quasars.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2015-12-26T09:20:50Z/2016-02-02T10:54:30Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Dr Paul Green, 2017, 'XMM-RM: Quasar Accretion Physics in the Reverberation-Mapping Field', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-n6s4req
