XQR-30: Black hole masses and accretion rates of 42 z ≳ 6 quasars

Abstract

We present bolometric luminosities, black hole masses, and Eddington ratios for 42 luminous quasars at z ≳ 6 using high signal-to-noise ratio VLT/X-shooter spectra, acquired as part of the enlarged ESO Large Programme XQR-30. In particular, we derived the bolometric luminosities from the rest-frame 3000 Å luminosities using a bolometric correction from the literature, as well as the black hole masses by modeling the spectral regions around the C IV 1549 Å and the Mg II 2798 Å emission lines, with scaling relations calibrated in the Local Universe. We find that the black hole masses derived from both emission lines are in the same range and the scatter of the measurements agrees with expectations from the scaling relations. The Mg II-derived masses are between ∼(0.8−12) ×10<SUP>9</SUP> M<SUB>⊙</SUB> and the derived Eddington ratios are within ∼0.13−1.73, with a mean (median) of 0.84(0.72). By comparing the total sample of quasars at z > 5.8, from this work and from the literature, to a bolometric luminosity distribution-matched sample at z ∼ 1.5, we find that quasars at high redshift host slightly less massive black holes, which accrete slightly more rapidly than those at lower z, with a difference in the mean Eddington ratios of the two samples of ∼0.27. These findings are in agreement with the results of recent works in the literature.