scholarly journals Composite Models: A Tool for Interpreting the Emission-Line Spectra of Active Galactic Nuclei

1989 ◽  
Vol 134 ◽  
pp. 316-317
Author(s):  
S.M. Viegas-Aldrovandi ◽  
M. Contini

In the last decade, emission-lines from a large number of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been observed. Most of the models built to explain the observed narrow emission-lines are based on photoionization. Although these photoionization models account for the observed general features, many points remain unexplained and several authors suggest an additional energy source (Ferland and Mushotzky 1984, Ferland and Osterbrock 1986, Stasinska 1984, Viegas-Aldrovandi and Gruenwald 1988). Another possible explanation is suggested by the emitting cloud motions, which account for the observed line widths. If the clouds are moving throughout a dilute gas (n0 ≃ 300 cm−3), a shock can develop. Then, the physical conditions in the cloud are determined by the coupled effect of photoionization and shock hydrodynamics.

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S304) ◽  
pp. 347-348
Author(s):  
Minjin Kim ◽  
Luis C. Ho ◽  
Carol J. Lonsdale ◽  
Mark Lacy ◽  
Andrew W. Blain ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present near-infrared spectra of young radio quasars selected by cross-correlating the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) all-sky survey catalog with the radio catalog [Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm (FIRST) and NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS)]. The objects have typical redshifts of z ≈ 2 and [O III] luminosities of 107 erg s−1 comparable to those of luminous quasars. The observed flux ratios of narrow emission lines indicate that these objects appear to be powered by active galactic nuclei. The [O III] line is broad, with full width at half maximum ~1300 to 2100 km s−1, significantly larger than that of ordinary quasars. These large line widths might be explained by jet-induced outflows.


2021 ◽  
Vol 507 (4) ◽  
pp. 5205-5213
Author(s):  
XueGuang Zhang

ABSTRACT In this manuscript, an interesting blue active galactic nuclei (AGNs) SDSS J154751.94+025550 (=SDSS J1547) is reported with very different line profiles of broad Balmer emission lines: double-peaked broad H β but single-peaked broad H α. SDSS J1547 is the first AGN with detailed discussions on very different line profiles of the broad Balmer emission lines, besides the simply mentioned different broad lines in the candidate for a binary black hole (BBH) system in SDSS J0159+0105. The very different line profiles of the broad Balmer emission lines can be well explained by different physical conditions to two central BLRs in a central BBH system in SDSS J1547. Furthermore, the long-term light curve from CSS can be well described by a sinusoidal function with a periodicity about 2159 d, providing further evidence to support the expected central BBH system in SDSS J1547. Therefore, it is interesting to treat different line profiles of broad Balmer emission lines as intrinsic indicators of central BBH systems in broad line AGN. Under assumptions of BBH systems, 0.125 per cent of broad-line AGN can be expected to have very different line profiles of broad Balmer emission lines. Future study on more broad line AGN with very different line profiles of broad Balmer emission lines could provide further clues on the different line profiles of broad Balmer emission lines as indicator of BBH systems.


2012 ◽  
Vol 762 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Ting-Gui Wang ◽  
C. Martin Gaskell ◽  
Xiao-Bo Dong

1997 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 365-377
Author(s):  
Sueli M. Viegas ◽  
Marcella Contini

AbstractThe presence of shocked regions in the narrow-line region (NLR) of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is discussed. Their effect on the physical conditions, in addition to photoionization from the central radiation source, is analyzed. We show that composite models, accounting for both shocks and photoionization, provide a consistent picture of the NLR which accounts for the observed emission-line and continuum spectra and is in agreement with the AGN unified model. The study of a particular object, NGC 5252, strengthens these results. It also shows that, besides explaining the observational data, the models make predictions that can be tested by infrared, optical, and X-ray imaging.


1986 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 289-294
Author(s):  
Alexei V. Filippenko

Optical spectra having moderately high resolution (~ 2 — 5 Å) are being used to study the profiles of narrow emission lines in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). It is often found that forbidden lines associated with high critical densities for collisional deexcitation are the broadest. A good example is [O III] λ4363 [ne(crit) ≈ 3 × 107 cm−3], whose width can be more than twice that of [O III] λ5007 [ne(crit) ≈ 8 × 105 cm−3]. The tight correlation between line width and ne(crit) implies that a much larger range of densities (∼ 102 — 107 cm−3) must be present among clouds in the narrow-line region than was previously believed. At times there almost appears to be a continuity between the narrow- and broad-line regions. In some objects the dense, high-velocity clouds are optically thick to ionizing radiation, since they emit [O I] λ6300 as well as species of much higher ionization (such as [Ne V] λ3426). These results help eliminate several difficulties in photoionization models of LINERs. It may also be possible to use the observed line widths as probes of the gravitational potential in AGNs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S352) ◽  
pp. 121-122
Author(s):  
A. Plat ◽  
S. Charlot ◽  
G. Bruzual ◽  
A. Feltre ◽  
A. Vidal-Garca ◽  
...  

AbstractTo understand how the nature of the ionizing sources and the leakage of ionizing photons in high-redshift galaxies can be constrained from their emission-line spectra, we compare emission-line models of star-forming galaxies including leakage of ionizing radiation, active galactic nuclei (AGN) and radiative shocks, with observations of galaxies at various redshifts with properties expected to approach those of primeval galaxies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 447 (3) ◽  
pp. 2726-2737 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. E. Nokhrina ◽  
V. S. Beskin ◽  
Y. Y. Kovalev ◽  
A. A. Zheltoukhov

2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (6) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
Yang-Wei Zhang ◽  
Yang Huang ◽  
Jin-Ming Bai ◽  
Xiao-Wei Liu ◽  
Jian-guo Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract As the third installment in a series systematically searching dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) among merging galaxies, we present the results of 20 dual AGNs found by using the SDSS fiber spectra. To reduce the flux contamination from both the fiber aperture and seeing effects, the angular separation of two cores in our merging galaxy pairs sample is restricted at least larger than 3″. By careful analysis of the emission lines, 20 dual AGNs are identified from 61 merging galaxies with their two cores both observed by the SDSS spectroscopic surveys. 15 of them are identified for the first time. The identification efficiency is about 32.79% (20/61), comparable to our former results (16 dual AGNs identified from 41 merging galaxies) based on the long-slit spectroscopy. Interestingly, two of the 20 dual AGNs show two prominent cores in radio images and their radio powers show they as the radio-excess AGNs. So far, 31 dual AGNs are found by our project and this is the current largest dual AGN sample, ever constructed with a consistent approach. This sample, together with more candidates from ongoing observations, is of vital importance to study the AGN physics and the coevolution between the supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.


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