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Abstract
Arp102B is a radio-loud, Seyfert 1 galaxy located in the constellation
Hercules with a B-band magnitude of 15.2 mag. It has a redshift z =
0.024, giving it a recessional velocity of 7250 km/s and a distance of
about 99.1Mpc. At its core is a low luminosity AGN with a black hole
estimated to be ~108 solar masses. Although there have be en many radio,
X-ray, UV, optical, and ground-based IR studies of the Arp102B nucleus ,
they have not converged to produce a single, unified model for the
nucleus. For example, Chen and Halpern (1989) used a geometrically thin,
optically thick accretion disk model to fit double-peaked Balmer lines in
the spectrum of Arp102B. Sulentic (1998) suggested that a bicone model
would better fit the Fe K alpha lines in the x-ray spectrum. Korista
summarizes the current state of our understanding as follows: "Despite
significant progress, some fundamental issues relating to the geometry of
the broad line emitting gas remain unsolved. We do not know whether in
general the broad line region is composed of discrete clouds, winds,
disks, or bloated stellar atmospheres or a combination of these."
(Strateva et al., 2003)
We believe that quality spectral data covering the IR spectrum may be the
key to resolving these differences and could lead to a unified model for
this type of AGN. Therefore, we propose to use Spitzer's IRS instrument
to obtain LH, SH, SL1 and SL2 spectral data of Arp102's supermassive
blackhole. With this data, we can measure the mass of the black hole,
analyze the geometry, composition, and physical properties of the dust
structure surrounding the black hole and reach conclusions about the
energy production mechanism(s) in the nucleus.
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