分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： We perform a systematic survey of active galactic nucleus (AGN) continuum lags using $\sim$3 day cadence $gri$-band light curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility. We select a sample of 94 type 1 AGN at $z<0.8$ with significant and consistent inter-band lags based on the interpolated cross-correlation function method and the Bayesian method JAVELIN. Within the framework of the lamp-post reprocessing model, our findings are: 1) The continuum emission (CE) sizes inferred from the data are larger than the disk sizes predicted by the standard thin disk model; 2) For a subset of the sample, the CE size exceeds the theoretical limit of the self-gravity radius (12 lt-days) for geometrically thin disks; 3) The CE size scales with continuum luminosity as $R_{\mathrm{CE}} \propto L^{0.48\pm0.04}$ with a scatter of 0.2 dex, analogous to the well-known radius-luminosity relation of broad H$\mathrm{\beta}$. These findings suggest a significant contribution of diffuse continuum emission from the broad-line region (BLR) to AGN continuum lags. We find that the $R_{\mathrm{CE}}-L$ relation can be explained by a photoionization model that assumes $\sim$23% of the total flux comes from the diffuse BLR emission. In addition, the ratio of the CE size and model-predicted disk size anti-correlates with the continuum luminosity, indicative of a potential non-disk BLR lag contribution evolving with luminosity. Finally, a robust positive correlation between CE size and black hole mass is detected.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： Extremely variable quasars (EVQs) are a population of sources showing large optical photometric variability revealed by time-domain surveys. The physical origin of such extreme variability is yet unclear. In this first paper of a series, we construct the largest-ever sample of 14,012 EVQs using photometric data spanning over $>$ 15 years from SDSS and Pan-STARRS1. We divide them into five sub-samples according to the relative brightness of an EVQ during SDSS spectroscopic observation compared to the mean brightness from photometric observations. Corresponding control samples of normal quasars are built with matched redshift, bolometric luminosity and supermassive black hole mass. We obtain the composite SDSS spectra of EVQs in various states and their corresponding control samples. We find EVQs exhibit clearly bluer (redder) SDSS spectra during bright (dim) states, consistent with the "bluer-when-brighter" trend widely seen in normal quasars. We further find the line EWs of broad MgII, CIV and OIII (but not broad Hb which is yet puzzling) gradually decrease from dim state to bright state, similar to the so-called intrinsic Baldwin effect commonly seen in normal AGNs. Meanwhile, EVQs have systematically larger line EWs compared with the control samples. We also see that EVQs exhibit subtle excess in the very broad line component compared with control samples. Possible explanations for the discoveries are discussed. Our findings support the hypothesis that EVQs are in the tail of a broad distribution of quasar properties, but not a distinct population.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： Spectroscopic reverberation mapping (RM) is a direct approach widely used to estimate the mass of black holes (BHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, it is very time-consuming and difficult to apply to a large AGN sample. The empirical relation between the broad-line region (BLR) size and luminosity (H$\beta$ $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}L_{\rm}$) provides a practical alternative yet subject to large scatter and systematic bias. AGN continuum RM (CRM) recently discovered a similar relation between the continuum emitting region (CER) size and luminosity ($R_{\rm CER}\unicode{x2013}L$). Here we present a new method to estimate BH masses via optical CRM assuming continuum lags dominated by the diffuse continuum emission. This method will significantly facilitate the estimation of RM BH mass thanks to the short continuum lags and the easily accessible high-cadence and large-area photometric data. Using a sample of 21 AGNs with both CER and BLR size, we find a tight $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}R_{\rm CER}$ relation (scatter $\sim0.28$ dex), with $R_{\rm BLR}$ on average 8.1 times of $R_{\rm CER}$ at 5100\r{A}. This tight relation enables the BH mass estimation based on the CRM combined with the velocity information. Applying the relation to rest objects in our CRM sample, we demonstrate that the predicted $R_{\rm BLR,CRM}$ follow the existing H$\beta$ $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}L_{\rm}$ relation well and the estimated CRM BH masses are consistent with the RM/single-epoch BH masses using H$\beta$. Our proposed method will be a promising BH mass estimator in the era of Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
Hengxiao Guo
Aaron J. Barth
Kirk T. Korista
Michael R. Goad
Edward M. Cackett
Misty C. Bentz
William N. Brandt
D. Gonzalez-Buitrago
Gary J. Ferland
Jonathan M. Gelbord
Luis C. Ho
Keith Horne
Michael D. Joner
Gerard A. Kriss
Ian McHardy
Missagh Mehdipour
Daeseong Park
Raymond Remigio
Vivian U
Marianne Vestergaard
摘要： Photoionization modeling of active galactic nuclei (AGN) predicts that diffuse continuum (DC) emission from the broad-line region makes a substantial contribution to the total continuum emission from ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. Evidence for this DC component is present in the strong Balmer jump feature in AGN spectra, and possibly from reverberation measurements that find longer lags than expected from disk emission alone. However, the Balmer jump region contains numerous blended emission features, making it difficult to isolate the DC emission strength. In contrast, the Paschen jump region near 8200 \r{A} is relatively uncontaminated by other strong emission features. Here, we examine whether the Paschen jump can aid in constraining the DC contribution, using Hubble Space Telescope STIS spectra of six nearby Seyfert 1 nuclei. The spectra appear smooth across the Paschen edge, and we find no evidence of a Paschen spectral break or jump in total flux. We fit multi-component spectral models over the range $6800-9700$ \r{A} and find that the spectra can still be compatible with a significant DC contribution if the DC Paschen jump is offset by an opposite spectral break resulting from blended high-order Paschen emission lines. The fits imply DC contributions ranging from $\sim$10% to 50% at 8000 \r{A}, but the fitting results are highly dependent on assumptions made about other model components. These degeneracies can potentially be alleviated by carrying out fits over a broader wavelength range, provided that models can accurately represent the disk continuum shape, Fe II emission, high-order Balmer line emission, and other components.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： We perform a systematic survey of active galactic nucleus (AGN) continuum lags using $\sim$3 day cadence $gri$-band light curves from the Zwicky Transient Facility. We select a sample of 94 type 1 AGN at $z<0.8$ with significant and consistent inter-band lags based on the interpolated cross-correlation function method and the Bayesian method JAVELIN. Within the framework of the lamp-post reprocessing model, our findings are: 1) The continuum emission (CE) sizes inferred from the data are larger than the disk sizes predicted by the standard thin disk model; 2) For a subset of the sample, the CE size exceeds the theoretical limit of the self-gravity radius (12 lt-days) for geometrically thin disks; 3) The CE size scales with continuum luminosity as $R_{\mathrm{CE}} \propto L^{0.48\pm0.04}$ with a scatter of 0.2 dex, analogous to the well-known radius-luminosity relation of broad H$\mathrm{\beta}$. These findings suggest a significant contribution of diffuse continuum emission from the broad-line region (BLR) to AGN continuum lags. We find that the $R_{\mathrm{CE}}-L$ relation can be explained by a photoionization model that assumes $\sim$23% of the total flux comes from the diffuse BLR emission. In addition, the ratio of the CE size and model-predicted disk size anti-correlates with the continuum luminosity, indicative of a potential non-disk BLR lag contribution evolving with luminosity. Finally, a robust positive correlation between CE size and black hole mass is detected.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： The combination of the linear size from reverberation mapping (RM) and the angular distance of the broad line region (BLR) from spectroastrometry (SA) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can be used to measure the Hubble constant $H_0$. Recently, Wang et al. (2020) successfully employed this approach and estimated $H_0$ from 3C 273. However, there may be a systematic deviation between the response-weighted radius (RM measurement) and luminosity-weighted radius (SA measurement), especially when different broad lines are adopted for size indicators (e.g., \hb\ for RM and \pa\ for SA). Here we evaluate the size deviations measured by six pairs of hydrogen lines (e.g., \hb, \ha\ and \pa) via the locally optimally emitting cloud (LOC) models of BLR. We find that the radius ratios $K$(=$R_{\rm SA}$/$R_{\rm RM}$) of the same line deviated systematically from 1 (0.85-0.88) with dispersions between 0.063-0.083. Surprisingly, the $K$ values from the \pa(SA)/\hb(RM) and \ha(SA)/\hb(RM) pairs not only are closest to 1 but also have considerably smaller uncertainty. Considering the current infrared interferometry technology, the \pa(SA)/\hb(RM) pair is the ideal choice for the low redshift objects in the SARM project. In the future, the \ha(SA)/\hb(RM) pair could be used for the high redshift luminous quasars. These theoretical estimations of the SA/RM radius pave the way for the future SARM measurements to further constrain the standard cosmological model.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： Periodic quasars have been suggested as candidates for hosting binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs), although alternative scenarios remain possible to explain the optical light curve periodicity. To test the alternative hypothesis of precessing radio jet, we present deep 6 GHz radio imaging conducted with NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in its C configuration for the three candidate periodic quasars, DES J024703.24$-$010032.0, DES J024944.66$-$000036.8, and DES J025214.67$-$002813.7. Our targets were selected based on their optical variability using 20-yr long multi-color light curves from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The new VLA observations show that all three periodic quasars are radio-quiet with the radio loudness parameters measured to be $R\equiv f_{6\,{\rm cm}}/f_{{\rm 2500}}$ of $\lesssim$1.0$-$1.5 and the $k$-corrected luminosities $\nu L_\nu$[6 GHz] of $\lesssim$5$-$21 $\times$ 10$^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$. They are in stark contrast to previously known periodic quasars proposed as binary SMBH candidates such as the blazar OJ 287 and PG1302$-$102. Our results rule out optical emission contributed from precessing radio jets as the origin of the optical periodicity in the three DES$-$SDSS-selected candidate periodic quasars. Future continued optical monitoring and complementary multi-wavelength observations are still needed to further test the binary SMBH hypothesis as well as other competing scenarios to explain the optical periodicity.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
Zhicheng He
Guilin Liu
Tinggui Wang
Guobin Mou
Richard Green
Weihao Bian
Huiyuan Wang
Luis C. Ho
Mouyuan Sun
Lu Shen
Nahum Arav
Chen Chen
Qingwen Wu
Hengxiao Guo
Zesen Lin
Junyao Li
Weimin Yi
摘要： Quasar outflows may play a crucial role in regulating the host galaxy, although the spatial scale of quasar outflows remain a major enigma, with their acceleration mechanism poorly understood. The kinematic information of outflow is the key to understanding its origin and acceleration mechanism. Here, we report the galactocentric distances of different outflow components for both a sample and an individual quasar. We find that the outflow distance increases with velocity, with a typical value from several parsecs to more than one hundred parsecs, providing direct evidence for an acceleration happening at a scale of the order of 10 parsecs. These outflows carry ~1% of the total quasar energy, while their kinematics are consistent with a dust driven model with a launching radius comparable to the scale of a dusty torus, indicating that the coupling between dust and quasar radiation may produce powerful feedback that is crucial to galaxy evolution.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
摘要： Spectroscopic reverberation mapping (RM) is a direct approach widely used to estimate the mass of black holes (BHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). However, it is very time-consuming and difficult to apply to a large AGN sample. The empirical relation between the broad-line region (BLR) size and luminosity (H$\beta$ $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}L_{\rm}$) provides a practical alternative yet subject to large scatter and systematic bias. AGN continuum RM (CRM) recently discovered a similar relation between the continuum emitting region (CER) size and luminosity ($R_{\rm CER}\unicode{x2013}L$). Here we present a new method to estimate BH masses via optical CRM assuming continuum lags dominated by the diffuse continuum emission. This method will significantly facilitate the estimation of RM BH mass thanks to the short continuum lags and the easily accessible high-cadence and large-area photometric data. Using a sample of 21 AGNs with both CER and BLR size, we find a tight $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}R_{\rm CER}$ relation (scatter $\sim0.28$ dex), with $R_{\rm BLR}$ on average 8.1 times of $R_{\rm CER}$ at 5100\r{A}. This tight relation enables the BH mass estimation based on the CRM combined with the velocity information. Applying the relation to rest objects in our CRM sample, we demonstrate that the predicted $R_{\rm BLR,CRM}$ follow the existing H$\beta$ $R_{\rm BLR}\unicode{x2013}L_{\rm}$ relation well and the estimated CRM BH masses are consistent with the RM/single-epoch BH masses using H$\beta$. Our proposed method will be a promising BH mass estimator in the era of Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
分类： 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间： 2023-02-19
Jinyi Yang
Feige Wang
Xiaohui Fan
Aaron J. Barth
Joseph F. Hennawi
Riccardo Nanni
Fuyan Bian
Frederick B. Davies
Emanuele P. Farina
Jan-Torge Schindler
Eduardo Banados
Roberto Decarli
Anna-Christina Eilers
Richard Green
Hengxiao Guo
Linhua Jiang
Jiang-Tao Li
Bram Venemans
Fabian Walter
Xue-Bing Wu
摘要： We report the results of near-infrared spectroscopic observations of 37 quasars in the redshift range $6.36.5$, forming the largest quasar near-infrared spectral sample at this redshift. The spectra, taken with Keck, Gemini, VLT, and Magellan, allow investigations of central black hole mass and quasar rest-frame ultraviolet spectral properties. The black hole masses derived from the MgII emission lines are in the range $(0.3-3.6)\times10^{9}\,M_{\odot}$, which requires massive seed black holes with masses $\gtrsim10^{3-4}\,M_{\odot}$, assuming Eddington accretion since $z=30$. The Eddington ratio distribution peaks at $\lambda_{\rm Edd}\sim0.8$ and has a mean of 1.08, suggesting high accretion rates for these quasars. The CIV - MgII emission line velocity differences in our sample show an increase of CIV blueshift towards higher redshift, but the evolutionary trend observed from this sample is weaker than the previous results from smaller samples at similar redshift. The FeII/MgII flux ratios derived for these quasars up to $z=7.6$, compared with previous measurements at different redshifts, do not show any evidence of strong redshift evolution, suggesting metal-enriched environments in these quasars. Using this quasar sample, we create a quasar composite spectrum for $z>6.5$ quasars and find no significant redshift evolution of quasar broad emission lines and continuum slope, except for a blueshift of the CIV line. Our sample yields a strong broad absorption line quasar fraction of $\sim$24%, higher than the fractions in lower redshift quasar samples, although this could be affected by small sample statistics and selection effects.
点击量
待评议
点击量
下载量
评论
