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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Dissipative Heating And Quasar Emission Lines, Mark Bottorff, Gary J. Ferland
Dissipative Heating And Quasar Emission Lines, Mark Bottorff, Gary J. Ferland
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
Recent observations reveal that the profiles of emission lines of active galactic nuclei are too smooth to be produced by discrete thermal (T~104 K) clouds. The lines may also be too bright to be powered by the continuum unless a large covering factor or additional heating mechanisms are present. We have been investigating one possible explanation of these observations, namely, that the clouds are turbulent. This paper focuses on observational effects caused by dissipation of turbulent energy into cloud heating. We find that internal heating can explain these observations. Clouds energized by both the ionizing continuum and …
Metallicities And Abundance Ratios From Quasar Broad Emission Lines, Fred Hamann, K. T. Korista, Gary J. Ferland, Craig Warner, Jack Baldwin
Metallicities And Abundance Ratios From Quasar Broad Emission Lines, Fred Hamann, K. T. Korista, Gary J. Ferland, Craig Warner, Jack Baldwin
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
The broad emission lines (BELs) of quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are important diagnostics of the relative abundances and overall metallicity in the gas. Here we present new theoretical predictions for several UV BELs. We focus specifically on the relative nitrogen abundance as a metallicity indicator, based on the expected secondary enrichment of nitrogen at metallicities Z≳0.2 Z☉. Among the lines we consider, NIII]λ1750/OIII]λ1664, NVλ1240/(CIVλ1549+OVIλ1034), AND NV/HeIIλ1640 are the most robust diagnostics. We argue, in particular, that the average N V BEL is not dominated by scattered Lyα photons from a broad absorption-line wind. We then …