Seoul National University AGN Monitoring Project. I. Strategy and Sample

While the reverberation mapping technique is the best available method for measuring black hole mass in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) beyond the local volume, this method has been mainly applied to relatively low-to-moderate luminosity AGNs at low redshift. We present the strategy of the Seoul National University AGN Monitoring Project, which aims at measuring the time delay of the H beta line emission with respect to AGN continuum, using a sample of relatively high luminosity AGNs out to redshift z similar to 0.5. We present simulated cross correlation results based on a number of mock light curves, in order to optimally determine monitoring duration and cadence. We describe our campaign strategy based on the simulation results and the availability of observing facilities. We present the sample selection, and the properties of the selected 100 AGNs, including the optical luminosity, expected time lag, black hole mass, and Eddington ratio.