Lunch talk on Nov. 4, 2024

Geometry and Kinematics of Broad Line Region in Active Galactic Nuclei

Speaker: Haicheng Feng (Yunnan Observatories)

Venue: SWIFAR Building 2111

Time: 12:45 PM, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024

Abstract: 

The broad-line region (BLR) is a crucial component of active galactic nuclei (AGN), and understanding its structure, dynamics, and evolution is essential for accurately measuring the mass of the central supermassive black hole and unraveling the internal physical mechanisms of AGN. Reverberation mapping, with its unique advantages, has become one of the most effective methods for probing the central regions of AGNs. Over the past 40 years, this technique has successfully measured the BLR size and black hole mass in nearly 150 sources, leading to the discovery of the well-known radius-luminosity (R-L) relation. These achievements have significantly advanced our understanding of AGN. However, many uncertainties and challenges remain in our understanding of the BLR, such as the influence of radiation pressure, the precise spatial distribution of the gas, the interaction between the BLR and other AGN structures, and the origin and long-term evolution of the BLR. This talk will provide a brief overview of several classical models of the BLR and discuss the key issues in current research. Furthermore, we will present recent progress in reverberation mapping observations conducted with the Lijiang 2.4-meter telescope, along with other related work.

Report PPT:  SWIFAR_Haicheng_Feng.pdf