LOW-MASS ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI with RAPID X-RAY VARIABILITY

We present a detailed study of the optical spectroscopic properties of 12 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with candidate low-mass black holes (BHs) selected by Kamizasa et al. through rapid X-ray variability. The high-quality, echellette Magellan spectra reveal broad H emission in all the sources, allowing us to estimate robust virial BH masses and Eddington ratios for this unique sample. We confirm that the sample contains low-mass BHs accreting at high rates: the median M_BH = 1.2 × 10⁶ M_⊙ and median L_bol/L_Edd = 0.44. The sample follows the M_BH-σ_∗ relation, within the considerable scatter typical of pseudobulges, the probable hosts of these low-mass AGNs. Various lines of evidence suggest that ongoing star formation is prevalent in these systems. We propose a new strategy to estimate star formation rates in AGNs hosted by low-mass, low-metallicity galaxies, based on modification of an existing method using the strength of [O ii] λ3727, [O iii] λ5007, and X-rays.