- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/831/7
- Title:
- SDSS-RM project: peak velocities of QSOs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/831/7
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Quasar emission lines are often shifted from the systemic velocity due to various dynamical and radiative processes in the line-emitting region. The level of these velocity shifts depends both on the line species and on quasar properties. We study velocity shifts for the line peaks (not the centroids) of various narrow and broad quasar emission lines relative to systemic using a sample of 849 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project. The coadded (from 32 epochs) spectra of individual quasars have sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) to measure stellar absorption lines to provide reliable systemic velocity estimates, as well as weak narrow emission lines. The large dynamic range in quasar luminosity (~2dex) of the sample allowed us to explore potential luminosity dependence of the velocity shifts. We derive average line peak velocity shifts as a function of quasar luminosity for different lines, and quantify their intrinsic scatter. We further quantify how well the peak velocity can be measured as a function of continuum S/N, and demonstrate that there is no systematic bias in the velocity measurements when S/N is degraded to as low as ~3 per SDSS pixel (~69kms/s). Based on the observed line shifts, we provide empirical guidelines on redshift estimation from [OII]{lambda}3727, [OIII]{lambda}5007, [NeV]{lambda}3426, MgII, CIII], HeII{lambda}1640, broad H{beta}, CIV, and SiIV, which are calibrated to provide unbiased systemic redshifts in the mean, but with increasing intrinsic uncertainties of 46, 56, 119, 205, 233, 242, 400, 415, and 477kms/s, in addition to the measurement uncertainties. These results demonstrate the infeasibility of measuring quasar redshifts to better than ~200kms/s with only broad lines.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/216/4
- Title:
- SDSS-RM project: technical overview
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/216/4
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project is a dedicated multi-object RM experiment that has spectroscopically monitored a sample of 849 broad-line quasars in a single 7deg^2^ field with the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey spectrograph. The RM quasar sample is flux-limited to i_psf_=21.7mag, and covers a redshift range of 0.1<z<4.5 without any other cuts on quasar properties. Optical spectroscopy was performed during 2014 January-July dark/gray time, with an average cadence of ~4 days, totaling more than 30 epochs. Supporting photometric monitoring in the g and i bands was conducted at multiple facilities including the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and the Steward Observatory Bok telescope in 2014, with a cadence of ~2 days and covering all lunar phases. The RM field (RAJ2000=14:14:49.00, DEJ2000=+53:05:00.0) lies within the CFHT-LS W3 field, and coincides with the Pan-STARRS 1 (PS1) Medium Deep Field MD07, with three prior years of multi-band PS1 light curves. The SDSS-RM six month baseline program aims to detect time lags between the quasar continuum and broad line region (BLR) variability on timescales of up to several months (in the observed frame) for ~10% of the sample, and to anchor the time baseline for continued monitoring in the future to detect lags on longer timescales and at higher redshift. SDSS-RM is the first major program to systematically explore the potential of RM for broad-line quasars at z>0.3, and will investigate the prospects of RM with all major broad lines covered in optical spectroscopy.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/805/96
- Title:
- SDSS-RM project: velocity dispersions of QSOs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/805/96
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present host stellar velocity dispersion measurements for a sample of 88 broad-line quasars at 0.1<z<1 (46 at z>0.6) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping (SDSS-RM) project. High signal-to-noise ratio coadded spectra (average S/N~30 per 69km/s pixel) from SDSS-RM allowed for the decomposition of the host and quasar spectra and for measurements of the host stellar velocity dispersions and black hole (BH) masses using the single-epoch (SE) virial method. The large sample size and dynamic range in luminosity (L_5100_=10^43.2-44.7^erg/s) lead to the first clear detection of a correlation between SE virial BH mass and host stellar velocity dispersion far beyond the local universe. However, the observed correlation is significantly flatter than the local relation, suggesting that there are selection biases in high-z luminosity-threshold quasar samples for such studies. Our uniform sample and analysis enable an investigation of the redshift evolution of the M_{dot}_-{sigma}_*_ relation relatively free of caveats by comparing different samples/analyses at disjoint redshifts. We do not observe evolution of the M_{dot}_-{sigma}_*_ relation in our sample up to z~1, but there is an indication that the relation flattens toward higher redshifts. Coupled with the increasing threshold luminosity with redshift in our sample, this again suggests that certain selection biases are at work, and simple simulations demonstrate that a constant M_{dot}_-{sigma}_*_ relation is favored to z~1. Our results highlight the scientific potential of deep coadded spectroscopy from quasar monitoring programs, and offer a new path to probe the co-evolution of BHs and galaxies at earlier times.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/811/91
- Title:
- SDSS-RM project: z<1 QSO host galaxies
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/811/91
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Quasar host galaxies are key for understanding the relation between galaxies and the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers. We present a study of 191 broad-line quasars and their host galaxies at z<1 using high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) spectra produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project. Clear detection of stellar absorption lines allows a reliable decomposition of the observed spectra into nuclear and host components, using spectral models of quasar and stellar radiations as well as emission lines from the interstellar medium. We estimate age, mass M*, and velocity dispersion {sigma}* of the host stars, the star formation rate (SFR), quasar luminosity, and SMBH mass M_{dot}_ for each object. The quasars are preferentially hosted by massive galaxies with M*~10^11^M_{sun}_ characterized by stellar ages around 1 billion yr, which coincides with the transition phase of normal galaxies from the blue cloud to the red sequence. The host galaxies have relatively low SFRs and fall below the main sequence of star-forming galaxies at similar redshifts. These facts suggest that the hosts have experienced an episode of major star formation sometime in the past 1 billion yr, which was subsequently quenched or suppressed. The derived M_{dot}_-{sigma}* and M_{dot}_-M* relations agree with our past measurements and are consistent with no evolution from the local universe. The present analysis demonstrates that reliable measurements of stellar properties of quasar host galaxies are possible with high-S/N fiber spectra, which will be acquired in large numbers with future powerful instruments such as the Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/716/866
- Title:
- SDSS search for binary AGN
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/716/866
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) having double-peaked profiles of [OIII]5007,4959 and other narrow emission lines, motivated by the prospect of finding candidate binary AGNs. These objects were identified by means of a visual examination of 21592 quasars at z<0.7 in SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7). Of the spectra with adequate signal-to-noise, 148 spectra exhibit a double-peaked [OIII] profile. Of these, 86 are Type 1 AGNs and 62 are Type 2 AGNs. Only two give the appearance of possibly being optically resolved double AGNs in the SDSS images, but many show close companions or signs of recent interaction. Radio-detected quasars are three times more likely to exhibit a double-peaked [OIII] profile than quasars with no detected radio flux, suggesting a role for jet interactions in producing the double-peaked profiles. Of the 66 broad-line (Type 1) AGNs that are undetected in the FIRST survey, 0.9% show double-peaked [OIII] profiles.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/850/140
- Title:
- SDSS spectral analysis of IR-bright DOGs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/850/140
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the ionized gas properties of infrared (IR)-bright dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) that show an extreme optical/IR color, (i-[22])_AB_>7.0, selected with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). For 36 IR-bright DOGs that show [OIII]{lambda}5007 emission in the SDSS spectra, we performed a detailed spectral analysis to investigate their ionized gas properties. In particular, we measured the velocity offset (the velocity with respect to the systemic velocity measured from the stellar absorption lines) and the velocity dispersion of the [OIII] line. We found that the derived velocity offset and dispersion of most IR-bright DOGs are larger than those of Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s) at z<0.3, meaning that the IR-bright DOGs show relatively strong outflows compared to Sy2s. This can be explained by the difference in IR luminosity contributed from active galactic nuclei, L_IR_ (AGN), because we found that (i) L_IR_ (AGN) correlates with the velocity offset and dispersion of [OIII] and (ii) our IR-bright DOG sample has larger L_IR_ (AGN) than Sy2s. Nevertheless, the fact that about 75% IR- bright DOGs have a large (>300km/s) velocity dispersion, which is a larger fraction compared to other AGN populations, suggests that IR-bright DOGs are good laboratories to investigate AGN feedback. The velocity offset and dispersion of [OIII] and [NeIII]{lambda}3869 are larger than those of [OII]{lambda}3727, which indicates that the highly ionized gas tends to show stronger outflows.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/758/1
- Title:
- SDSS-Spitzer AGN properties
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/758/1
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We study a combined sample of 264 star-forming, 51 composite, and 73 active galaxies using optical spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra from the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph. We examine optical and mid-IR spectroscopic diagnostics that probe the amount of star formation and relative energetic contributions from star formation and an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Overall we find good agreement between optical and mid-IR diagnostics. Misclassifications of galaxies based on the SDSS spectra are rare despite the presence of dust obscuration. The luminosity of the [Ne II] 12.8{mu}m emission line is well correlated with the star formation rate measured from the SDSS spectra, and this holds for the star-forming, composite, and AGN-dominated systems. AGNs show a clear excess of [Ne III] 15.6{mu}m emission relative to star-forming and composite systems. We find good qualitative agreement between various parameters that probe the relative contributions of the AGN and star formation, including the mid-IR spectral slope, the ratio of the [Ne V] 14.3{mu}m to [Ne II] 12.8{mu}m fluxes, the equivalent widths of the 7.7{mu}m, 11.3{mu}m, and 17{mu}m polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features, and the optical "D" parameter which measures the distance at which a source lies from the locus of star-forming galaxies in the optical BPT emission-line diagnostic diagram. We also consider the behavior of the three individual PAH features by examining how their flux ratios depend upon the degree of AGN dominance. We find that the PAH 11.3{mu}m feature is significantly suppressed in the most AGN-dominated systems.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/122/503
- Title:
- SDSS u*g*r*i*z* photometry and redshift of QSOs
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/122/503
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present data for over 100 high-redshift quasars found in ~700deg^2^ by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), using automated selection algorithms applied to SDSS imaging data and with spectroscopic confirmation obtained during routine spectroscopic observations by the Sloan 2.5 m telescope. The SDSS spectra cover the wavelength range 3900-9200{AA}E at a spectral resolution of 1800 and have been obtained for 116 quasars with redshifts greater than 3.94; 92 of these objects were previously uncatalogued, significantly increasing the current list of published z>4 quasars. The paper also reports observations of seven additional new z>4 quasars; all were selected from the SDSS imaging survey and spectroscopically confirmed with observations by the Apache Point Observatory's 3.5 m telescope or the Hobby-Eberly Telescope.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/793/108
- Title:
- SEAMBHs. II. Continuum and Hbeta LCs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/793/108
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- This is the second in a series of papers reporting on a large reverberation mapping (RM) campaign to measure black hole (BH) mass in high accretion rate active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The goal is to identify super-Eddington accreting massive black holes (SEAMBHs) and to use their unique properties to construct a new method for measuring cosmological distances. Based on theoretical models, the saturated bolometric luminosity of such sources is proportional to the BH mass, which can be used to obtain their distance. Here we report on five new RM measurements and show that in four of the cases, we can measure the BH mass and three of these sources are SEAMBHs. Together with the three sources from our earlier work, we now have six new sources of this type. We use a novel method based on a minimal radiation efficiency to identify nine additional SEAMBHs from earlier RM-based mass measurements. We use a Bayesian analysis to determine the parameters of the new distance expression and the method uncertainties from the observed properties of the objects in the sample. The ratio of the newly measured distances to the standard cosmological ones has a mean scatter of 0.14 dex, indicating that SEAMBHs can be use as cosmological distance probes. With their high luminosity, long period of activity, and large numbers at high redshifts, SEAMBHs have a potential to extend the cosmic distance ladder beyond the range now explored by Type Ia supernovae.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/825/126
- Title:
- SEAMBHs. V. The third year
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/825/126
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- This paper reports results of the third-year campaign of monitoring super-Eddington accreting massive black holes (SEAMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) between 2014 and 2015. Ten new targets were selected from the quasar sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), which have generally been more luminous than the SEAMBH candidates in the last two years. H{beta} lags ({tau}_H{beta}_) in five of the 10 quasars have been successfully measured in this monitoring season. We find that the lags are generally shorter, by large factors, than those of objects with same optical luminosity, in light of the well-known R_H{beta}_-L_5100_ relation. The five quasars have dimensionless accretion rates of dM/dt=10-10^3^. Combining these with measurements of the previous SEAMBHs, we find that the reduction of H{beta} lags depends tightly on accretion rates, {tau}_H{beta}_/{tau}_R-L_{propto}(dM/dt)^-0.42^, where {tau}_R-L_ is the H{beta} lag from the normal R_H{beta}_-L_5100_ relation. Fitting 63 mapped AGNs, we present a new scaling relation for the broad-line region: R_H{beta}_={alpha}_1_l_44_^{beta}1^min [1,(dM/dt)/(dM/dt)_c_)^-{gamma}1^], where l_44_=L_5100_/10^44^erg/s is the 5100{AA} continuum luminosity, and the coefficients are {alpha}_1_=29.6_-2.8_^+2.7^ lt-day, {beta}1=0.56_-0.03_^+0.03^, {gamma}1=0.52_-0.16_^+0.33^, and (dM/dt)_c_=11.19_-6.22_^+2.29^. This relation is applicable to AGNs over a wide range of accretion rates, from 10^-3^ to 10^3^. Implications of this new relation are briefly discussed.
