The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project: H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ Reverberation Measurements From First-year Spectroscopy and Photometry

Understand

We present reverberation mapping results from the first year of combined spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project.

• We successfully recover reverberation time delays between the $g+i$-band emission and the broad H$\beta$ emission line for a total of 44 quasars, and for the broad H$\alpha$ emission line in 18 quasars.
• Time delays are computed using the JAVELIN and CREAM software and the traditional interpolated cross-correlation function (ICCF): Using well defined criteria, we report measurements of 32 H$\beta$ and 13 H$\alpha$ lags with JAVELIN, 42 H$\beta$ and 17 H$\alpha$ lags with CREAM, and 16 H$\beta$ and 8 H$\alpha$ lags with the ICCF.
• Lag values are generally consistent among the three methods, though we typically measure smaller uncertainties with JAVELIN and CREAM than with the ICCF, given the more physically motivated light curve interpolation and more robust statistical modeling of the former two methods.