Quasars as standard candles. V. Accounting for the dispersion in the LX-LUV relation down to ≤ 0.06 dex

Abstract

A characteristic feature of quasars is the observed non-linear relationship between their monochromatic luminosities at rest-frame 2500 {\AA} and 2 keV. This relationship is evident across all redshifts and luminosities and, due to its non-linearity, can be implemented to estimate quasar distances and construct a Hubble Diagram for quasars. Historically, a significant challenge in the cosmological application of this relation has been its high observed dispersion. Recent studies have demonstrated that this dispersion can be reduced by excluding biased objects from the sample. Nevertheless, the dispersion remains considerable ($\delta \sim 0.20$ dex), especially when compared to the Phillips relation for supernovae Ia. Given the absence of a comprehensive physical model for the relation, it remains unclear how much of the remaining dispersion is intrinsically tied to the relation itself and how much can be attributed to observational factors not addressed by the sample selection and by the choice of X-ray and UV indicators. Potential contributing factors include (i) the scatter produced by using X-ray photometric results instead of spectroscopic ones, (ii) the intrinsic variability of quasars, and (iii) the inclination of the accretion disc relative to our line of sight. In this study, we thoroughly examine these three factors and quantify their individual contributions to the observed dispersion. Based on our findings, we argue that the intrinsic dispersion of the X-ray/UV luminosity relation is likely below 0.06 dex. We also discuss why high-redshift subsamples can show a significantly lower dispersion than the average one