481 research outputs found
Outflows and the Physical Properties of Quasars
We have investigated a sample of 5088 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey Second Data Release in order to determine how the frequency and
properties of broad absorptions lines (BALs) depend on black hole mass,
bolometric luminosity, Eddington fraction (L/L_Edd), and spectral slope. We
focus only on high-ionization BALs and find a number of significant results.
While quasars accreting near the Eddington limit are more likely to show BALs
than lower systems, BALs are present in quasars accreting at only a
few percent Eddington. We find a stronger effect with bolometric luminosity,
such that the most luminous quasars are more likely to show BALs. There is an
additional effect, previously known, that BAL quasars are redder on average
than unabsorbed quasars. The strongest effects involving the quasar physical
properties and BAL properties are related to terminal outflow velocity. Maximum
observed outflow velocities increase with both the bolometric luminosity and
the blueness of the spectral slope, suggesting that the ultraviolet luminosity
to a great extent determines the acceleration. These results support the idea
of outflow acceleration via ultraviolet line scattering.Comment: Uses emulateapj.cls, 14 pages including 7 tables and 7 figures.
Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, Unabridged version of
Table 4 can be downloaded from http://physics.uwyo.edu/agn
SDSS J075101.42+291419.1: A Super-Eddington Accreting Quasar with Extreme X-ray Variability
We report the discovery of extreme X-ray variability in a type 1 quasar: SDSS
J. It has a black hole mass of
measured from reverberation mapping (RM), and the black hole is accreting with
a super-Eddington accretion rate. Its XMM-Newton observation in 2015 May
reveals a flux drop by a factor of with respect to the Swift
observation in 2013 May when it showed a typical level of X-ray emission
relative to its UV/optical emission. The lack of correlated UV variability
results in a steep X-ray-to-optical power-law slope () of
-1.97 in the low X-ray flux state, corresponding to an X-ray weakness factor of
36.2 at rest-frame 2 keV relative to its UV/optical luminosity. The mild
UV/optical continuum and emission-line variability also suggest that the
accretion rate did not change significantly. A single power-law model modified
by Galactic absorption describes well the keV spectra of the X-ray
observations in general. The spectral fitting reveals steep spectral shapes
with . We search for active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with such
extreme X-ray variability in the literature and find that most of them are
narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies and quasars with high accretion rates. The
fraction of extremely X-ray variable objects among super-Eddington accreting
AGNs is estimated to be . We discuss two possible scenarios,
disk reflection and partial covering absorption, to explain the extreme X-ray
variability of SDSS J. We propose a possible origin for the
partial covering absorber, which is the thick inner accretion disk and its
associated outflow in AGNs with high accretion rates.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
FUSE Observations of Intrinsic Absorption in the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Mrk 509
We present far-ultraviolet spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509 obtained
in 1999 November with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Our
data span the observed wavelength range 915-1185 A at a resolution of ~20 km/s.
The spectrum shows a blue continuum, broad OVI 1032,1038 emission, and a broad
CIII 977 emission line. Superposed on these emission components, we resolve
associated absorption lines of OVI 1032,1038, CIII 977, and Lyman lines through
Lzeta. Seven distinct kinematic components are present, spanning a velocity
range of -440 to +170 km/s relative to the systemic velocity. The absorption is
clustered in two groups, one centered at -370m km/s and another at the systemic
velocity. The blue-shifted cluster may be associated with the extended line
emission visible in deep images of Mrk 509 obtained by Phillips et al. Although
several components appear to be saturated, they are not black at their centers.
Partial covering or scattering permits ~7% of the broad-line or continuum flux
to be unaffected by absorption. Of the multiple components, only one has the
same ionization state and column density as highly ionized gas that produces
the OVII and OVIII ionization edges in X-ray spectra of Mrk 509.
This paper will appear in a special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters
devoted to the first scientific results from the FUSE mission.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal (Letters). 4 pages, 3 color
PostScript figures. Figures are best viewed and printed in color. Added
acknowledgment that this is one of many papers to be published in a special
issue of ApJL devoted to the first scientific results from the FUSE missio
Recommended from our members
Hidden quasars in ultraluminous infared galaxies
Abstract. Many ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGS) are pow- ered by quasars hidden in the center, but many are also powered by starbursts. A simply diagnostic diagram is proposed that can iden- tify obscured quasars in ULIRGs by their high-ionization emission lines ([0 III]X5007/HP ,? 5), and �warm� IR color (&/f6s 2 0.25)
Polarized Narrow-Line Emission from the Nucleus of NGC 4258
The detection of polarized continuum and line emission from the nucleus of
NGC 4258 by Wilkes et al. (1995) provides an intriguing application of the
unified model of Seyfert nuclei to a galaxy in which there is known to be an
edge-on, rotating disk of molecular gas surrounding the nucleus. Unlike most
Seyfert nuclei, however, NGC 4258 has strongly polarized narrow emission lines.
To further investigate the origin of the polarized emission, we have obtained
spectropolarimetric observations of the NGC 4258 nucleus at the Keck-II
telescope. The narrow-line polarizations range from 1.0% for [S II] 6716 to
13.9% for the [O II] 7319,7331 blend, and the position angle of polarization is
oriented nearly parallel to the projected plane of the masing disk. A
correlation between critical density and degree of polarization is detected for
the forbidden lines, indicating that the polarized emission arises from
relatively dense (n_e > 10^4 cm^-3) gas. An archival Hubble Space Telescope
narrow-band [O III] image shows that the narrow-line region has a compact,
nearly unresolved core, implying a FWHM size of <2.5 pc. We discuss the
possibility that the polarized emission might arise from the accretion disk
itself and become polarized by scattering within the disk atmosphere. A more
likely scenario is an obscuring torus or strongly warped disk surrounding the
inner portion of a narrow-line region which is strongly stratified in density.
The compact size of the narrow-line region implies that the obscuring structure
must be smaller than ~2.5 pc in diameter.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journal. 13 pages, including 1 table
and 4 figures. Uses emulateapj.st
Spectropolarimetry of 3CR 68.1: A Highly Inclined Quasar
We present Keck spectropolarimetry of the highly polarized radio-loud quasar
3CR 68.1 (z=1.228, V=19). The polarization increases from 5 in the red (4000 A
rest-frame) to >10% in the blue (1900 A rest-frame). The broad emission lines
are polarized the same as the continuum, which shows that 3CR 68.1 is not a
blazar as it has sometimes been regarded in the past. We also present
measurements of the emission lines and a strong, blueshifted, associated
absorption line system, as well as a detection at the emission-line redshift of
Ca II K absorption, presumably from stars in the host galaxy. 3CR 68.1 belongs
to an observationally rare class of highly polarized quasars that are neither
blazars nor partially obscured radio-quiet QSOs. Taking into account 3CR 68.1's
other unusual properties, such as its extremely red spectral energy
distribution and its extreme lobe dominance, we explain our spectropolarimetric
results in terms of unified models. We argue that we have a dusty, highly
inclined view of 3CR 68.1, with reddened scattered (polarized) quasar light
diluted by even more dust-reddened quasar light reaching us directly from the
nucleus.Comment: 20 pages, includes 3 tables, 6 figures. Accepted by Ap
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