Calibrating black hole mass estimators using high quality Keck spectra

Black hole masses of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are one of the most important parameters in AGN physics. Based on the virial assumption, black hole masses can be determined from the product of the width of the broad emission lines and the continuum/line luminosities. Using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(LRIS) at the Keck telescope, we obtained high quality spectra (S/N~100), covering 2300-5500A in the rest-frame, for a sample of 37 intermediate-luminosity AGN at z~0.4, in order to calibrate various black hole mass estimators based on the Mg II (2798A) and the Hbeta (4861A) emission lines. After subtracting continuum and complex FeII emission under Mg II and Hbeta, we fit the broad emission lines using high order Guass-Hermite models to best constrain the profile and the width of the emission lines. Combining the SDSS spectra covering Halpha emission line with the Keck spectra, we determine a set of 6 black hole masses for each object, based on the line width (MgII, Hbeta, and Halpha) and the luminosity (LMgII, LHbeta, LHalpha, L3000, L5100), and calibrate each black hole mass estimator. We will present uncertainties and limitations of each mass estimator.