Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

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 …