40 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
Black Hole - Bulge Relationship of Post-Starburst Quasars at z \sim 0.3
The MBH - {\sigma}\ast relation has been studied extensively for local
galaxies, but to date there have been scarce few direct measurements of stellar
velocity dispersions for systems beyond the local universe. We investigate
black hole and host galaxy properties of six "post-starburst quasars" at z \sim
0.3. Spectra of these objects simultaneously display features from the active
nucleus including broad emission lines and a host galaxy Balmer absorption
series indicative of the post-starburst stellar population. These are the first
measurements of {\sigma}\ast in such objects, and we significantly increase the
number of directly-measured non-local objects on the MBH - {\sigma}\ast
diagram. The "post-starburst quasars" of our sample fall on or above the
locally defined MBH - {\sigma}\ast relation, a result that is consistent with
previous MBH - {\sigma}\ast studies of samples at z > 0.1. However, they are
generally consistent with the MBH-Lbulge relation. Futhermore, their location
on the Faber-Jackson relation suggests that some of the bulges may be
dynamically peculiar.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Shocked POststarbust Galaxy Survey I: Candidate Poststarbust Galaxies with Emission Line Ratios Consistent with Shocks
[Abridged] The Shocked POststarburst Galaxy Survey (SPOGS) aims to identify
transforming galaxies, in which the nebular lines are excited via shocks
instead of through star formation processes. Utilizing the OSSY measurements on
the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 catalog, we applied Balmer
absorption and shock boundary criteria to identify 1,067 SPOG candidates
(SPOGs*) within z=0.2. SPOGs* represent 0.2% of the OSSY sample galaxies that
exceed the continuum signal-to-noise cut (and 0.7% of the emission line galaxy
sample). SPOGs* colors suggest that they are in an earlier phase of transition
than OSSY galaxies that meet an E+A selection. SPOGs* have a 13% 1.4GHz
detection rate from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters
survey, higher than most other subsamples, and comparable only to
low-ionization nuclear emission line region hosts, suggestive of the presence
of active galactic nuclei. SPOGs* also have stronger NaD absorption than
predicted from the stellar population, suggestive of cool gas being driven out
in galactic winds. It appears that SPOGs* represent an earlier phase in galaxy
transformation than traditionally selected poststarburst galaxies, and that a
large proportion of SPOGs* also have properties consistent with disruption of
their interstellar media, a key component to galaxy transformation. It is
likely that many of the known pathways to transformation undergo a SPOG phase.
Studying this sample of SPOGs* further, including their morphologies, active
galactic nuclei properties, and environments, has the potential for us to build
a more complete picture of the initial conditions that can lead to a galaxy
evolving.Comment: 19 pages, 19 figures, 3 tables, accepted to ApJ Supplements (Apr 13),
full sample is available on www.spogs.or
Catching Quenching Galaxies: The Nature of the WISE Infrared Transition Zone
We present the discovery of a prominent bifurcation between early-type galaxies and late-type galaxies, in [4.6]–[12] μm colors from the Wide Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). We then use an emission-line diagnostic comparison sample to explore the nature of objects found both within and near the edges of this WISE infrared transition zone (IRTZ). We hypothesize that this bifurcation might be due to the presence of hot dust and polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features in late-type galaxies. Using a sample of galaxies selected through the Shocked Poststarburst Galaxy Survey (SPOGS), we are able to identify galaxies with strong Balmer absorption (EW(Hδ) > 5 Å) as well as emission lines inconsistent with star formation (deemed SPOG candidates, or SPOGs*) that lie within the optical green valley. Seyferts and low-ionization nuclear emission line regions, whose u − r colors tend to be red, are strongly represented within IRTZ, whereas SPOGs* tend to sit near the star-forming edge. Although active galactic nuclei are well represented in the IRTZ, we argue that the dominant IRTZ population is composed of galaxies that are in late stages of transitioning across the optical green valley, shedding the last of their remnant interstellar media
Now You See It, Now You Don't: The Disappearing Central Engine of the Quasar J1011+5442
We report the discovery of a new "changing-look" quasar, SDSS
J101152.98+544206.4, through repeat spectroscopy from the Time Domain
Spectroscopic Survey. This is an addition to a small but growing set of quasars
whose blue continua and broad optical emission lines have been observed to
decline by a large factor on a time scale of approximately a decade. The 5100
Angstrom monochromatic continuum luminosity of this quasar drops by a factor of
> 9.8 in a rest-frame time interval of < 9.7 years, while the broad H-alpha
luminosity drops by a factor of 55 in the same amount of time. The width of the
broad H-alpha line increases in the dim state such that the black hole mass
derived from the appropriate single-epoch scaling relation agrees between the
two epochs within a factor of 3. The fluxes of the narrow emission lines do not
appear to change between epochs. The light curve obtained by the Catalina Sky
Survey suggests that the transition occurs within a rest-frame time interval of
approximately 500 days. We examine three possible mechanisms for this
transition suggested in the recent literature. An abrupt change in the
reddening towards the central engine is disfavored by the substantial
difference between the timescale to obscure the central engine and the observed
timescale of the transition. A decaying tidal disruption flare is consistent
with the decay rate of the light curve but not with the prolonged bright state
preceding the decay, nor can this scenario provide the power required by the
luminosities of the emission lines. An abrupt drop in the accretion rate onto
the supermassive black hole appears to be the most plausible explanation for
the rapid dimming.Comment: Submitted to MNRA
The Discovery of the First "Changing Look" Quasar: New Insights into the Physics & Phenomenology of AGN
SDSS J015957.64+003310.5 is an X-ray selected, AGN from the Stripe
82X survey that transitioned from a Type 1 quasar to a Type 1.9 AGN between
2000 and 2010. This is the most distant AGN, and first quasar, yet observed to
have undergone such a dramatic change. We re-observed the source with the
double spectrograph on the Palomar 5m telescope in July 2014 and found that the
spectrum is unchanged since 2010. From fitting the optical spectra, we find
that the AGN flux dropped by a factor of 6 between 2000 and 2010 while the
broad H emission faded and broadened. Serendipitous X-ray observations
caught the source in both the bright and dim state, showing a similar 2-10 keV
flux diminution as the optical while lacking signatures of obscuration. The
optical and X-ray changes coincide with -band magnitude variations over
multiple epochs of Stripe 82 observations. We demonstrate that variable
absorption, as might be expected from the simplest AGN unification paradigm,
does not explain the observed photometric or spectral properties. We interpret
the changing state of J0159+0033 to be caused by dimming of the AGN continuum,
reducing the supply of ionizing photons available to excite gas in the
immediate vicinity around the black hole. J0159+0033 provides insight into the
intermittency of black hole growth in quasars, as well as an unprecedented
opportunity to study quasar physics (in the bright state) and the host galaxy
(in the dim state), which has been impossible to do in a single sources until
now.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Towards an Understanding of Changing-Look Quasars: An Archival Spectroscopic Search in SDSS
The uncertain origin of the recently-discovered `changing-looking' quasar
phenomenon -- in which a luminous quasar dims significantly to a quiescent
state in repeat spectroscopy over ~10 year timescales -- may present unexpected
challenges to our understanding of quasar accretion. To better understand this
phenomenon, we take a first step to building a sample of changing-look quasars
with a systematic but simple archival search for these objects in the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12. By leveraging the >10 year baselines for
objects with repeat spectroscopy, we uncover two new changing-look quasars, and
a third discovered previously. Decomposition of the multi-epoch spectra and
analysis of the broad emission lines suggest that the quasar accretion disk
emission dims due to rapidly decreasing accretion rates (by factors of >2.5),
while disfavoring changes in intrinsic dust extinction for the two objects
where these analyses are possible. Broad emission line energetics also support
intrinsic dimming of quasar emission as the origin for this phenomenon rather
than transient tidal disruption events or supernovae. Although our search
criteria included quasars at all redshifts and transitions from either
quasar-like to galaxy-like states or the reverse, all of the clear cases of
changing-look quasars discovered were at relatively low-redshift (z ~ 0.2 -
0.3) and only exhibit quasar-like to galaxy-like transitions.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures. Updated to accepted versio
SHOCKED POSTSTARBURST GALAXY SURVEY. II. the MOLECULAR GAS CONTENT and PROPERTIES of A SUBSET of SPOGs
We present CO(1–0) observations of objects within the Shocked POststarburst Galaxy Survey taken with the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique 30 m single dish and the Combined Array for Research for Millimeter Astronomy interferometer. Shocked poststarburst galaxies (SPOGs) represent a transitioning population of galaxies, with deep Balmer absorption , consistent with an intermediate-age (A-star) stellar population, and ionized gas line ratios inconsistent with pure star formation. The CO(1–0) subsample was selected from SPOGs detected by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with 22 μm flux detected at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) > 3. Of the 52 objects observed in CO(1–0), 47 are detected with S/N > 3. A large fraction (37%–46% ± 7%) of our CO-SPOG sample were visually classified as morphologically disrupted. The H2 masses detected were between , consistent with the gas masses found in normal galaxies, though approximately an order of magnitude larger than the range seen in poststarburst galaxies. When comparing the 22 μm and CO(1–0) fluxes, SPOGs diverge from the normal star-forming relation, having 22 μm fluxes in excess of the relation by a factor of , suggestive of the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The Na i D characteristics of CO-SPOGs show that it is likely that many of these objects host interstellar winds. Objects with large Na i D enhancements also tend to emit in the radio, suggesting possible AGN driving of neutral winds