Engineering topics

Gaskell, C. Martin

Publications and source records attributed to Gaskell, C. Martin.

5 records

NASA NTRS2019

Discovery of Highly Blueshifted Broad Balmer and Metastable Helium Absorption Lines in a Tidal Disruption Event

We report the discovery of nonstellar hydrogen Balmer and metastable helium absorption lines accompanying a transient, high-velocity (0.05c) broad absorption line (BAL) system in the optical spectra of the tidal disruption event (TDE) AT2018zr (z = 0.071). In the Hubble Space Telescope UV spectra, absorption of high- and low-ionization lines is also present at this velocity, making AT2018zr resemble a low-ionization BALQSO. We conclude that these transient absorption features are more likely to arise in fast outflows produced by the TDE than absorbed by the unbound debris. In accordance with the outflow picture, we are able to reproduce the flat-topped Hα emission in a spherically expanding medium without invoking the typical prescription of an elliptical disk. We also report the appearance of narrow (~1000 kms(exp −1)) N III λ4640, He II λ4686, Hα, and Hβ emission in the late-time optical spectra of AT2018zr, which may be a result of UV continuum hardening at late times, as observed by Swift. Including AT2018zr, we find a high association rate (three out of four) of BALs in the UV spectra of TDEs. This suggests that outflows may be ubiquitous among TDEs and less sensitive to viewing angle effects compared to QSO outflows.

Hung, T.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Radius-luminosity and mass-luminosity relationships for active galactic nuclei

Broad-line region (BLR) sizes derived from spectral variability and BLR line widths are used to directly derive the mass (M) of the central objects of ten active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in a uniform manner. It is shown that the luminosity-weighted C IV 1549-emitting BLR radius (R) correlates with the bolometric luminosity L(Bol) and is consistent with R about sq rt L(Bol). The measurements also permit a verification of the Dibai mass-luminosity (M-L) relationship (previously derived indirectly). It is found that L(Bol) is proportional to M exp (1.1 + or - 0.3). It is found that the efficiency factor epsilon, defined as the ratio of L(Bol) to the Eddington luminosity increases from 0.03 in the low-luminosity Seyferts up to 0.06 in the most luminous objects in the sample.

Koratkar, Anuradha P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Structure and kinematics of the broad-line regions in active galaxies from IUE variability data

IUE archival data are used here to investigate the structure nad kinematics of the broad-line regions (BLRs) in nine AGN. It is found that the centroid of the line-continuum cross-correlation functions (CCFs) can be determined with reasonable reliability. The errors in BLR size estimates from CCFs for irregularly sampled light curves are fairly well understood. BLRs are found to have small luminosity-weighted radii, and lines of high ionization tend to be emitted closer to the central source than lines of low ionization, especially for low-luminosity objects. The motion of the gas is gravity-dominated with both pure inflow and pure outflow of high-velocity gas being excluded at a high confidence level for certain geometries.

Koratkar, Anuradha P.↗

NASA NTRS1991

On the size of the broad-line region in Arakelian 120

Continuum and emission-line variability in ultraviolet and optical spectra of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Akn 120 during an outburst are analyzed. By combining the optical and ultraviolet data, continuum and emission-line light curves are obtained which can be used in a cross-correlation analysis. A lag of 39 + or - 14 days between the continuum and emission-line variations is obtained. While the uncertainty in this determination is considerable, lags as large as those expected from light-travel times in broad-line regions predicted by standard photoionization models seem to be unlikely.

Peterson, Bradley M.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Emission-line properties of optically and radio-selected complete quasar samples

Spectrophotometry of two complete samples of quasars, one obtained from the flat radio spectra of the objects and the other from their optical colors, is presented. It is confirmed that the equivalent widths of the major UV emission lines decrease with increasing continuum luminosity (the Baldwin effect) and that the (Ly-alpha + N V)/C IV and 1909 A/C IV intensity ratios are also luminosity-dependent by virtue of the C IV luminosity dependence. It is shown that the Mg II/C IV intensity ratio and possibly the strengths of the blue Fe II emission features and the FWHM of the 1909 A blend are luminosity-dependent. These results generally support the Mushotzky and Ferland (1984) interpretation of the Baldwin effect in terms of a weak inverse correlation between the continuum luminosity and ionization parameter.

Baldwin, J. A.↗