Constraining the uncertainties in single-epoch virial black hole masses

Utilizing single-epoch spectra and the empirical relation between the size of the broad-line region and AGN continuum luminosity, the so-called single-epoch method has been widely used for estimating AGN black hole masses. However, the systematic uncertainties and the potential biases of this method are not well examined. Taking the full advantage of the high-quality homogeneous spectra from the Lick AGN Monitoring Project (LAMP), we investigate in detail the uncertainties of single-epoch mass estimates by comparing with the reverberation-mapping results. We find that the uncertainty due to AGN variability is less than 0.1 dex, while there is a systematic offset between single-epoch masses and reverberation masses. Particularly, narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies show that the Hbeta line widths measured from single-epoch (or mean) spectra are systematically larger than those from rms spectra, indicating a potential bias of single-epoch masses. We will present the detailed measurement method, the test of virial assumption, and the systematic uncertainties.