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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Series

2014

Galaxies: nuclei

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Evolution Of Broad-Line Emission From Active Galactic Nuclei, Moshe Elitzur, Luis C. Ho, Jonathan R. Trump Mar 2014

Evolution Of Broad-Line Emission From Active Galactic Nuclei, Moshe Elitzur, Luis C. Ho, Jonathan R. Trump

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

Apart from viewing-dependent obscuration, intrinsic broad-line emission from active galactic nuclei (AGN) follows an evolutionary sequence: type 1 → 1.2/1.5 → 1.8/1.9 → 2 as the accretion rate on to the central black hole is decreasing. This spectral evolution is controlled, at least in part, by the parameter Lbol/M2/3, where Lbol is the AGN bolometric luminosity and M is the black hole mass. Both this dependence and the double-peaked profiles that emerge along the sequence arise naturally in the disc-wind scenario for the AGN broad-line region.


Interpreting The Ionization Sequence In Agn Emission-Line Spectra, Chris T. Richardson, James T. Allen, Jack A. Baldwin, Paul C. Hewett, Gary J. Ferland Jan 2014

Interpreting The Ionization Sequence In Agn Emission-Line Spectra, Chris T. Richardson, James T. Allen, Jack A. Baldwin, Paul C. Hewett, Gary J. Ferland

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We investigate the physical cause of the great range in the ionization level seen in the spectra of narrow-lined active galactic nuclei (AGN). We used a recently developed technique called mean field independent component analysis to identify examples of individual Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxies whose spectra are not dominated by emission due to star formation (SF), which we therefore designate as AGN. We assembled high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) composite spectra of a sequence of these AGN defined by the ionization level of their narrow-line regions (NLR), and extending down to very low ionization cases. We then used a local …