127 research outputs found
The Spectral Energy Distributions of Red 2MASS AGN
We present infrared (IR) to X-ray spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 44
red AGN selected from the 2MASS survey on the basis of their red J-K color
(>2 mag) and later observed by Chandra. In comparison with optically-, radio-,
and X-ray selected AGN, their median SEDs are red in the optical and near-IR
with little/no blue bump. It thus seems that near-IR color selection isolates
the reddest subset of AGN that can be classified optically. The shape of the
SEDs is generally consistent with modest absorption by gas (in the X-ray) and
dust (in the optical-IR). The levels of obscuration, estimated from X-rays,
far-IR and our detailed optical/near-IR color modeling are all consistent
implying N_H < few*10^{22} cm^{-2}. We present SED models that show how the AGN
optical/near-IR colors change due to differing amounts of reddening, AGN to
host galaxy ratio, redshift and scattered light emission and apply them to the
sources in the sample. We find that the 2MASS AGN optical color, B-R, and to a
lesser extent the near-IR color, J-K, are strongly affected by reddening,
host galaxy emission, redshift, and in few, highly polarized objects, also by
scattered AGN light. The obscuration/inclination of the AGN allows us to see
weaker emission components which are generally swamped by the AGN.Comment: 52 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Black hole masses from power density spectra: determinations and consequences
We analyze the scaling of the X-ray power density spectra with the mass of
the black hole on the example of Cyg X-1 and Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. We show
that the high frequency tail of the power density spectrum can be successfully
used for determination of the black hole mass. We determine the masses of the
black holes in 6 Broad Line Seyfert 1 galaxies, 5 Narrow Line Seyfert 1
galaxies and two QSOs using available power density spectra. The proposed
scaling is clearly appropriate for other Seyfert galaxies and QSOs. In all but
1 normal Seyferts the resulting luminosity to the Eddington luminosity ratio is
smaller than 0.15, with a source MCG -6-15-30 being an exception. The
applicability of the same scaling to Narrow Line Seyfert 1 is less clear and
there may be a systematic shift between the power spectra of NLS1 and S1
galaxies of the same mass, leading to underestimation of the black hole mass.
However, both the method based on variability and the method based on spectral
fitting show that those galaxies have relatively low masses and high luminosity
to the Eddington luminosity ratio, supporting the view of those objects as
analogs of galactic sources in their high/soft or very high state based on the
overall spectral shape. Bulge masses of their host galaxies are similar to
normal Seyfert galaxies so they do not follow the black hole mass-bulge mass
relation for Seyfert galaxies, being evolutionary less advanced, as suggested
by Mathur (2000). The bulge mass-black hole mass relation in our sample is
consistent with being linear, with black hole to bulge ratio 0.03 %,
similar to Wandel (1999) and Laor (1998, 2001) for low mass objects but
significantly shifted from the relation of Magorrian et al. (1998) and McLure &
Dunlop (2000).Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRA
Quasar Evolution and the Baldwin Effect in the Large Bright Quasar Survey
From a large homogeneous sample of optical/UV emission line measurements for
993 quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey (LBQS), we study correlations
between emission line equivalent width and both restframe ultraviolet
luminosity (i.e., the Baldwin Effect) and redshift. Our semi-automated spectral
fitting accounts for absorption lines, fits blended iron emission, and provides
upper limits to weak emission lines. Use of a single large, well-defined sample
and consistent emission line measurements allows us to sensitively detect many
correlations, most of which have been previously noted. A new finding is a
significant Baldwin Effect in UV iron emission. Further analysis reveals that
the primary correlation of iron emission strength is probably with redshift,
implying an evolutionary rather than a luminosity effect. We show that for most
emission lines with a significant Baldwin Effect, and for some without,
evolution dominates over luminosity effects. This may reflect evolution in
abundances, in cloud covering factors, or overall cloud conditions such as
density and ionization. We find that in our sample, a putative correlation
between Baldwin Effect slope and the ionization potential is not significant.
Uniform measurements of other large quasar samples will extend the luminosity
and redshift range of such spectral studies and provide even stronger tests of
spectral evolution.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, emulateapj style, including 3 tables and 6 figures.
Accepted April 02, 2001 for publication in ApJ Main Journal. See also
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/Papers.htm
PCA of the spectral energy distribution and emission line properties of red 2MASS AGN
We analyze the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and emission line
properties of the red (J-K > 2) 2MASS AGN observed by Chandra using
principle component analysis. The sample includes 44 low redshift AGN with low
or moderate obscuration (N_H < 10^{23} cm^{-2}) as indicated by X-rays and SED
modeling. The obscuration of the AGN allows us to see weaker emission
components (host galaxy emission, AGN scattered light) which are usually
outshone by the AGN. The first four eigenvectors explain 70% of the variance in
the sample. The dominant cause of variance in the sample (eigenvector 1) is the
L/Ledd ratio strengthened by intrinsic absorption. Eigenvector 2 is related to
host galaxy (relative to the observed AGN) emission and eigenvectors 3 and 4
distinguish between two sources of obscuration: host galaxy absorption and
circumnuclear absorption. Although our analysis is consistent with unification
schemes where inclination dependent obscuration is important in determining the
AGN SEDs, the L/Ledd ratio is the most important factor, followed by host
galaxy emission.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Strongly Variable z=1.48 FeII and MgII Absorption in the Spectra of z=4.05 GRB 060206
We report on the discovery of strongly variable FeII and MgII absorption
lines seen at z=1.48 in the spectra of the z=4.05 GRB 060206 obtained between
4.13 to 7.63 hours (observer frame) after the burst. In particular, the FeII
line equivalent width (EW) decayed rapidly from 1.72+-0.25 AA to 0.28+-0.21 AA,
only to increase to 0.96+-0.21 AA in a later date spectrum. The MgII doublet
shows even more complicated evolution: the weaker line of the doublet drops
from 2.05+-0.25 AA to 0.92+-0.32 AA, but then more than doubles to 2.47+-0.41
AA in later data. The ratio of the EWs for the MgII doublet is also variable,
being closer to 1:1 (saturated regime) when the lines are stronger and becoming
closer to 2:1 (unsaturated regime) when the lines are weaker, consistent with
expectations based on atomic physics. We have investigated and rejected the
possibility of any instrumental or atmospheric effects causing the observed
strong variations. Our discovery of clearly variable intervening FeII and MgII
lines lends very strong support to their scenario, in which the characteristic
size of intervening patches of MgII ``clouds'' is comparable to the GRB beam
size, i.e, about 10^16 cm. We discuss various implications of this discovery,
including the nature of the MgII absorbers, the physics of GRBs, and
measurements of chemical abundances from GRB and quasar absorption lines.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; ApJ Letters, accepte
Infrared Properties of High Redshift and X-ray Selected AGN Samples
The NASA/ISO Key Project on active galactic nuclei (AGN) seeks to better
understand the broad-band spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of these sources
from radio to X-rays, with particular emphasis on infrared properties. The ISO
sample includes a wide variety of AGN types and spans a large redshift range.
Two subsamples are considered herein: 8 high-redshift (1 < z < 4.7) quasars;
and 22 hard X-ray selected sources.
The X-ray selected AGN show a wide range of IR continuum shapes, extending to
cooler colors than the optical/radio sample of Elvis et al. (1994). Where a
far-IR turnover is clearly observed, the slopes are < 2.5 in all but one case
so that non-thermal emission remains a possibility. The highest redshift
quasars show extremely strong, hot IR continua requiring ~ 100 solar masses of
500 - 1000 Kelvin dust with ~ 100 times weaker optical emission. Possible
explanations for these unusual properties include: reflection of the optical
light from material above/below a torus; strong obscuration of the optical
continuum; or an intrinsic deficit of optical emission.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures (2 color), to be published in the Springer Lecture
Notes of Physics Series as part of the proceedings for "ISO Surveys of a
Dusty Universe," a workshop held at Ringberg Castle, Germany, November 8 -
12, 1999. Requires latex style files for this series: cl2emult.cls,
cropmark.sty, lnp.sty, sprmindx.sty, subeqnar.sty (included with submission
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