Joanna Kuraszkiewicz

Evolution of active galaxies: black-hole mass–bulge relations for narrow line objects

Abstract Mathur [MNRAS Letters 314 (2000) L17] has proposed that the narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are likely to be the active galaxies in the early stage of evolution. To test this hypothesis, we have calculated the black hole (BH) masses and the host galaxy bulge masses for a sample of NLS1s. We find that the mean BH to bulge mass ratio of NLS1s is significantly smaller than that for normal Seyfert galaxies. We also find that the ratio of BH mass to bulge velocity dispersion is also significantly smaller for NLS1s. A scenario of BH growth is our preferred interpretation, though alternative explanations are discussed. Assuming that the BHs grow with accretion with a radiative efficiency of 0.1, it will take them t≳3.3×108 years to become as massive as in normal Seyfert 1s. These timescales are consistent with the theoretical estimates of quasar timescale tQ≲4.5×108 years calculated by Haehnelt et al. [MNRAS 300 (1998) 817]. Studies of low redshift NLS1s thus provide a powerful, and due to their proximity, relatively easy way to understand the high redshift quasars and their evolution.

Optical spectroscopy of type Ia supernovae

We present 432 low-dispersion optical spectra of 32 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) that also have well-calibrated light curves. The coverage ranges from 6 epochs to 36 epochs of spectroscopy. Most of the data were obtained with the 1.5 m Tillinghast telescope at the F. L. Whipple Observatory with typical wavelength coverage of 3700-7400 A and a resolution of ~7 A. The earliest spectra are 13 days before B-band maximum; two-thirds of the SNe were observed before maximum brightness. Coverage for some SNe continues almost to the nebular phase. The consistency of the method of observation and the technique of reduction makes this an ideal data set for studying the spectroscopic diversity of SNe Ia.

The Far-Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions of X-Ray-selected Active Galaxies*

Hard X-ray selection is, arguably, the optimal method for defining a representative sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Hard X-rays are unbiased by the effects of obscuration and reprocessing along the line of sight intrinsic/external to the AGN, which result in unknown fractions of the population being missed from traditional optical/soft X-ray samples. We present the far-infrared (far-IR) observations of 21 hard X-ray-selected AGNs from the HEAO 1 A2 sample observed with Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We characterize the far-IR continua of these X-ray-selected AGNs and compare them with those of various radio and optically selected AGN samples and with models for an AGN-heated, dusty disk. The X-ray-selected AGNs show broad, warm IR continua covering a wide temperature range (~20-1000 K in a thermal emission scenario). Where a far-IR turnover is clearly observed, the slopes are less than 2.5 in all but three cases so that nonthermal emission remains a possibility, although the presence of cooler dust resulting in a turnover at wavelengths longward of the ISO range is considered more likely. The sample also shows a wider range of optical/UV shapes than the optical/radio-selected samples, extending to redder near-IR colors. The bluer objects are type 1 Seyfert galaxies, while the redder AGNs are mostly intermediate or type 2 Seyfert galaxies. This is consistent with a modified unification model in which obscuration increases as we move from a face-on toward a more edge-on line of sight. However, this relation does not extend to the mid-infrared as the 25/60 μm ratios are similar in Seyfert galaxies with differing type and optical/UV reddening. The resulting limits on the column density of obscuring material through which we are viewing the redder AGNs (NH ~ 1022 cm-2) are inconsistent with standard optically thick torus models (NH ~ 1024 cm-2) and simple unification models. Instead our results support more complex models in which the amount of obscuring material increases with viewing angle and may be clumpy. Such a scenario, already suggested by differing optical/near-IR spectroscopic and X-ray AGN classifications, allows for different amounts of obscuration of the continuum emission in different wave bands and of the broad emission line region, which, in turn, results in a mixture of behaviors for AGNs with similar optical emission-line classifications. The resulting decrease in the optical depth of the obscuring material also allows the AGN to heat more dust at larger radial distances. We show that an AGN-heated, flared, dusty disk with mass of ~109 M☉ and size of approximately a few hundred parsecs is able to generate optical-far-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that reproduce the wide range of SEDs present in our sample with no need for an additional starburst component to generate the long-wavelength, cooler part of the IR continuum.

Constraints for the accretion disk evaporation rate in AGN from the existence of the Broad Line Region

We analyze the consequences of the hypothesis that the formation of the Broad Line Region is intrin- sically connected to the existence of the cold accretion disk. We assume that the Broad Line Region radius is reliably estimated by the formula of Kaspi et al. (2000). We consider three models of the disappearance of the inner disk that limit the existence of the Broad Line Region: (i) the classical ADAF approach, i.e. the inner hot flow develops whenever it can exist (ii) the disk evaporation model of Meyer & Meyer-Hofmeister (2002) (iii) the generalized disk evaporation model of Rozanska & Czerny (2000b). For each of the models, we determine the min- imum value of the Eddington ratio and the maximum value of the broad line widths as functions of the viscosity parameterand the magnetic field parameter �. We compare the predicted parameter space with observations of several AGN. Weak dependence of the maximum value of the FWHM and minimum value of the Eddington ratio on the black hole mass in our sample is noticeable. It seems to favor the description of the cold disk/hot inner flow transition as in the classical ADAF approach rather than with the model of disk evaporation due to conduction between the disk and accreting corona.

Quasar Evolution and the Baldwin Effect in the Large Bright Quasar Survey

From a large homogeneous sample of optical/UV emission line measurements for 993 quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey (LBQS), we study correlations between emission-line equivalent width and both rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity (i.e., the Baldwin effect) and redshift. Our semiautomated spectral fitting accounts for absorption lines, fits blended iron emission, and provides upper limits to weak emission lines. Use of a single large, well-defined sample and consistent emission-line measurements allows us to sensitively detect many correlations, most of which have been previously noted. A new finding is a significant Baldwin effect in UV iron emission. Further analysis reveals that the primary correlation of iron emission strength is probably with redshift, implying an evolutionary rather than a luminosity effect. We show that for most emission lines with a significant Baldwin effect, and for some without, evolution dominates over luminosity effects. This may reflect evolution in abundances, in cloud covering factors, or overall cloud conditions such as density and ionization. We find that in our sample, a putative correlation between Baldwin effect slope and the ionization potential is not significant. Uniform measurements of other large quasar samples will extend the luminosity and redshift range of such spectral studies and provide even stronger tests of spectral evolution.

What Do the Ultraviolet Spectra of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies Tell Us about Their Broad-Line Regions?

ABSTRACTWe study the UV spectra of narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies and compare them with fifinormalˇˇactive galactic nuclei. Similar to their optical lines, the NLSy1s show narrower UV lines. They are alsocharacterized by weaker C IV j1549 and C III] j1909 and stronger Al III j1857 emission. These UV-lineproperties add to the optical and X-ray properties known to be part of the Boroson & Green eigen-vector 1. We show that the steep soft X-rays, which characterize the NLSy1s SEDs, change the equi-librium of the two-phase cloud-intercloud medium, resulting in somewhat higher broad-line region clouddensities, lower ionization parameter, and larger broad-line region radii. These modi—ed conditions canexplain the unusual emission-line properties we —nd in NLSy1. Using a speci—c model of an accretiondisk with corona presented by Witt, Czerny, & we also show that the steep soft and hard X-rayZ0ycki,continua can be explained if the ratios are larger than in fifinormalˇˇ Sy1s/QSOs, strengtheningL/LEddearlier suggestions that the is the physical parameter driving this eigenvector.L/LEddSubject headings: accretion, accretion disks ¨ galaxies: active ¨ galaxies: Seyfert ¨ ultraviolet: galaxies

Emission Line Properties of Active Galactic Nuclei from a pre-COSTAR Faint Object Spectrograph Hubble Space Telescope Spectral Atlas

UV/optical emission lines offer some of the most detailed information obtainable about the intrinsic properties of quasars. Studies of the density, ionization and metal abundance of gas near the accreting black hole are probed through an intriguing but poorly understood complex of correlations between emission lines and overall quasar spectral energy distributions that has long suffered from a lack of large, consistently measured samples. As part of a broader effort to expand and systematize the data upon which these studies are built, we present measurements of the UV/optical emission line parameters in a sample of 158 active galactic nuclei observed with the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), prior to the installation of COSTAR. We use an automated technique that accounts for galactic reddening, includes iron emission blends, galactic and intrinsic absorption lines, and performs multicomponent fits to the emission line profiles. We present measured line parameters (equivalent width and FWHM) for a large number (28) of different UV/optical lines, including upper limits for undetected lines. We also study the relations between the emission line equivalent widths and luminosity (the Baldwin effect), as well as redshift (evolution). We compare results from this HST FOS sample with our previous measurements of 993 QSOs in the Large Bright Quasar Survey using the same analysis technique and sum the samples to achieve better coverage of the luminosity-redshift plane. We confirm a significant Baldwin effect for UV iron emission from Green et al. and find that evolution dominates the effect for iron and for Si IV emission. The values of the Baldwin effect slopes for all UV emission lines and the dependence of the slopes on the samples luminosity range point to a change of the SED as the cause of the Baldwin effect in the FOS sample.

[O II] Emission, Eigenvector 1, and Orientation in Radio-quiet Quasars

We present supportive evidence that the Boroson & Green eigenvector 1 is not driven by source orientation and further that both [O III] λ5007 and [O II] λ3727 are isotropically emitted in the radio-quiet sample of bright quasar survey (BQS) quasars, contrary to results found for radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Studies of optical emission lines in quasars have revealed a striking set of correlations between various emission-line properties, known as the Boroson & Green eigenvector 1. Until recently it was generally accepted that eigenvector 1 does not depend on orientation, as it strongly correlates with [O III] λ5007 emission, thought to be an isotropic property. However, recent studies of radio-loud AGNs have questioned the isotropy of [O III] emission and concluded that [O II] λ3727 emission is isotropic. In this paper we investigate the relation between eigenvector 1 and [O II] emission in radio-quiet BQS quasars and readdress the issue of orientation as the driver of eigenvector 1. We account for the small blue bump present at [O II] wavelengths and subtract Fe II emission that contaminates [O III] emission. We find significant correlations between eigenvector 1 and orientation-independent [O II] emission, which implies that orientation does not drive eigenvector 1. The luminosities and equivalent widths of [O III] and [O II] correlate with one another, and the range in luminosities and equivalent widths is similar. This suggests that our radio-quiet BQS quasar sample is largely free of orientation-dependent obscuration and/or ionization effects. We conclude that neither the [O III] emission nor the [O II]/[O III] ratio are dependent on orientation in radio-quiet quasars, contrary to recent results found for radio-loud quasars.

SDSS J094533.99+100950.1 – the remarkable weak emission line quasar

Weak emission line quasars are a rare and puzzling group of objects. In this paper we present one more object of this class found in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The quasar SDSS J094533.99+100950.1, lying at z = 1.66, has practically no CIV emission line, a red continuum very similar to the second steepest of the quasar composite spectra of Richards et al., is not strongly affected by absorption and the MgII line, although relatively weak, is strong enough to measure the black hole mass. The Eddington ratio in this object is about 0.45, and the line properties are not consistent with the trends expected at high accretion rates. We propose that the most probable explanation of the line properties in this object, and perhaps in all weak emission line quasars, is that the quasar activity has just started. A disk wind is freshly launched so the low ionization lines which form close to the disk surface are already observed but the wind has not yet reached the regions where high ionization lines or narrow line components are formed. The relatively high occurrence of such a phenomenon may additionally indicate that the quasar active phase consists of several sub-phases, each starting with a fresh build-up of the Broad Line Region.

Star formation in z > 1 3CR host galaxies as seen by Herschel

We present Herschel (PACS and SPIRE) far-infrared (FIR) photometry of a complete sample of z> 1 3CR sources, from the Herschel guaranteed time project The Herschel Legacy of distant radio-loud AGN. Combining these with existing Spitzer photometric data, we perform an infrared (IR) spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis of these landmark objects in extragalactic research to study the star formation in the hosts of some of the brightest active galactic nuclei (AGN) known at any epoch. Accounting for the contribution from an AGN-powered warm dust component to the IR SED, about 40% of our objects undergo episodes of prodigious, ULIRG-strength star formation, with rates of hundreds of solar masses per year, coeval with the growth of the central supermassive black hole. Median SEDs imply that the quasar and radio galaxy hosts have similar FIR properties, in agreement with the orientation-based unification for radio-loud AGN. The star-forming properties of the AGN hosts are similar to those of the general population of equally massive non-AGN galaxies at comparable redshifts, thus there is no strong evidence of universal quenching of star formation (negative feedback) within this sample. Massive galaxies at high redshift may be forming stars prodigiously, regardless of whether their supermassive black holes are accreting or not. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.Tables 1, 2, 4 and Appendices are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org