- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/618/A184
- Title:
- SDSS J151349.52+035211.28 Xshooter spectra
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/618/A184
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the detection and detailed analysis of a diffuse molecular cloud at z_abs_=2.4636 towards the quasar SDSS J151349.52+035211.28 (hereafter J1513+0352) (zem~=2.68) observed with the X-shooter spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. We measure very high column densities of atomic and molecular hydrogen, with logN(HI,H_2_)~=21.8,21.3. This is the highest H_2_ column density ever measured in an intervening damped Lyman-{alpha}system but we do not detect CO, implying log N(CO)/N(H_2_)<-7.8, which could be due to a low metallicity of the cloud. From the metal absorption lines, we derive the metallicity to be Z~=0.15Z_{sun}_ and determine the amount of dust by measuring the induced extinction of the background quasar light, AV~=0.4. We simultaneously detect Ly{alpha} emission at the same redshift, with a centroid located at a most probable impact parameter of only {rho}~=1.4kpc. We argue that the line of sight is therefore likely passing through the interstellar medium of a galaxy, as opposed to the circumgalactic medium. The relation between the surface density of gas and that of star formation seems to follow the global empirical relation derived in the nearby Universe although our constraints on the star formation rate and on the galaxy extent remain too loose to be conclusive. We study the transition from atomic to molecular hydrogen using a theoretical description based on the microphysics of molecular hydrogen.We use the derived chemical properties of the cloud and physical conditions (Tk~=90K and n~=250cm^-3^) derived through the excitation of H_2_ rotational levels and neutral carbon fine structure transitions to constrain the fundamental parameters that govern this transition. By comparing the theoretical and observed HI column densities, we are able to bring an independent constraint on the incident UV flux, which we find to be in agreement with that estimated from the observed star formation rate.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/863/134
- Title:
- SDSS low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/863/134
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report a method of identifying candidate low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies (BCDs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data, and present 3m Lick Observatory and 10m W.M. Keck Observatory optical spectroscopic observations of 94 new systems that have been discovered with this method. The candidate BCDs are selected from Data Release 12 (DR12) of SDSS on the basis of their photometric colors and morphologies. Using the Kast spectrometer on the 3m telescope, we confirm that the candidate low-metallicity BCDs are emission-line galaxies, and we make metallicity estimates using the empirical R and S calibration methods. Follow-up observations on a subset of the lowest-metallicity systems are made at Keck using the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer, which allow for a direct measurement of the oxygen abundance. We determine that 45 of the reported BCDs are low-metallicity candidates with 12+log(O/H)<=7.65, including six systems which are either confirmed or projected to be among the lowest-metallicity galaxies known, at 1/30 of the solar oxygen abundance, or 12+log(O/H)~7.20.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/871/57
- Title:
- SDSS & MMT obs. of extremely massive QSOs & gal.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/871/57
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Black hole mass scaling relations suggest that extremely massive black holes (EMBHs) with M_BH_>~10^9.4^M_{sun}_ are found in the most massive galaxies with M_star_>~10^11.6^M_{sun}_, which are commonly found in dense environments, like galaxy clusters. Therefore, one can expect that there is a close connection between active EMBHs and dense environments. Here, we study the environments of 9461 galaxies and 2943 quasars at 0.24<~z<~0.40, among which 52 are extremely massive quasars with log(M_BH_/M_{sun}_)>=~9.4, using Sloan Digital Sky Survey and MMT Hectospec data. We find that, on average, both massive quasars and massive galaxies reside in environments more than ~2 times as dense as those of their less massive counterparts with log(M_BH_/M_{sun}_)<~9.0. However, massive quasars reside in environments about ~2 times less dense than inactive galaxies with log(M_BH_/M_{sun}_)>=9.4, and only about one third of massive quasars are found in galaxy clusters, while about two thirds of massive galaxies reside in such clusters. This indicates that massive galaxies are a much better signpost for galaxy clusters than massive quasars. The prevalence of massive quasars in moderate to low density environments is puzzling, considering that several simulation results show that these quasars appear to prefer dense environments. Several possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, although further investigation is needed to obtain a definite explanation.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/VII/289
- Title:
- SDSS quasar catalog, sixteenth data release (DR16Q)
- Short Name:
- VII/289
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the final Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV) quasar catalog from Data Release 16 of the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS). This catalog comprises the largest selection of spectroscopically confirmed quasars to date. The full catalog includes two subcatalogs (the current versions are DR16Q_v4 and DR16Q_Superset_v3 at http://data.sdss.org/sas/dr16/eboss/qso/DR16Q): a "superset" of all SDSS-IV/eBOSS objects targeted as quasars containing 1,440,615 observations and a quasar-only catalog containing 750,414 quasars, including 225,082 new quasars appearing in an SDSS data release for the first time, as well as known quasars from SDSS-I/II/III. We present automated identification and redshift information for these quasars alongside data from visual inspections for 320,161 spectra. The quasar-only catalog is estimated to be 99.8% complete with 0.3%-1.3% contamination. Automated and visual inspection redshifts are supplemented by redshifts derived via principal component analysis and emission lines. We include emission-line redshifts for H{alpha}, H{beta}, MgII, CIII], CIV, and Ly{alpha}. Identification and key characteristics generated by automated algorithms are presented for 99,856 broad absorption-line quasars and 35,686 damped Lyman alpha quasars. In addition to SDSS photometric data, we also present multiwavelength data for quasars from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer, UKIDSS, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, FIRST, ROSAT/2RXS, XMM-Newton, and Gaia.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/143/119
- Title:
- SDSS Quasar Lens Search. V. Final catalog
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/143/119
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the final statistical sample of lensed quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Lens Search (SQLS). The well-defined statistical lens sample consists of 26 lensed quasars brighter than i=19.1 and in the redshift range of 0.6<z<2.2 selected from 50826 spectroscopically confirmed quasars in the SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7), where we restrict the image separation range to 1"<{theta}<20" and the i-band magnitude differences in two images to be smaller than 1.25mag. The SDSS-DR7 quasar catalog also contains 36 additional lenses identified with various techniques. In addition to these lensed quasars, we have identified 81 pairs of quasars from follow-up spectroscopy, 26 of which are physically associated binary quasars. The statistical lens sample covers a wide range of image separations, redshifts, and magnitudes, and therefore is suitable for systematic studies of cosmological parameters and surveys of the structure and evolution of galaxies and quasars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/887/38
- Title:
- SDSS RM Project: CIV lags & LCs from 4yrs of data
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/887/38
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present reverberation-mapping (RM) lags and black hole mass measurements using the CIV{lambda}1549 broad emission line from a sample of 348 quasars monitored as a part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey RM Project. Our data span four years of spectroscopic and photometric monitoring for a total baseline of 1300 days, allowing us to measure lags up to ~750days in the observed frame (this corresponds to a rest-frame lag of ~300days in a quasar at z=1.5 and ~190days at z=3). We report significant time delays between the continuum and the CIV{lambda}1549 emission line in 48 quasars, with an estimated false-positive detection rate of 10%. Our analysis of marginal lag measurements indicates that there are on the order of ~100 additional lags that should be recoverable by adding more years of data from the program. We use our measurements to calculate black hole masses and fit an updated CIV radius-luminosity relationship. Our results significantly increase the sample of quasars with CIV RM results, with the quasars spanning two orders of magnitude in luminosity toward the high-luminosity end of the CIV radius-luminosity relation. In addition, these quasars are located at some of the highest redshifts (z~1.4-2.8) of quasars with black hole masses measured with RM.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/872/21
- Title:
- SDSS RM project: <10day CIV BAL variability
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/872/21
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We systematically investigate short-timescale (<10 day rest-frame) CIV broad absorption-line (BAL) variability to constrain quasar-wind properties and provide insights into BAL-variability mechanisms in quasars. We employ data taken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project, as the rapid cadence of these observations provides a novel opportunity to probe BAL variability on shorter rest-frame timescales than have previously been explored. In a sample of 27 quasars with a median of 58 spectral epochs per quasar, we have identified 15 quasars (55_-14_^+18^%), 19 of 37 CIV BAL troughs (51_-12_^+15^%), and 54 of 1460 epoch pairs (3.7%+/-0.5%) that exhibit significant CIV BAL equivalent-width variability on timescales of less than 10 days in the quasar rest frame. These frequencies indicate that such variability is common among quasars and BALs, though somewhat rare among epoch pairs. Thus, models describing BALs and their behavior must account for variability on timescales down to less than a day in the quasar rest frame. We also examine a variety of spectral characteristics and find that, in some cases, BAL variability is best described by ionization-state changes, while other cases are more consistent with changes in covering fraction or column density. We adopt a simple model to constrain the density and radial distance of two outflows appearing to vary by ionization-state changes, yielding outflow density lower limits consistent with previous work.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/851/21
- Title:
- SDSS RM project first year of observations
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/851/21
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present reverberation mapping results from the first year of combined spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project. We successfully recover reverberation time delays between the g+i band emission and the broad H{beta} emission line for a total of 44 quasars, and for the broad H{alpha} emission line in 18 quasars. Time delays are computed using the JAVELIN and CREAM software and the traditional interpolated cross-correlation function (ICCF): using well-defined criteria, we report measurements of 32 H{beta} and 13 H{alpha} lags with JAVELIN, 42 H{beta} and 17 H{alpha} lags with CREAM, and 16 H{beta} and eight H{alpha} lags with the ICCF. Lag values are generally consistent among the three methods, though we typically measure smaller uncertainties with JAVELIN and CREAM than with the ICCF, given the more physically motivated light curve interpolation and more robust statistical modeling of the former two methods. The median redshift of our H{beta}-detected sample of quasars is 0.53, significantly higher than that of the previous reverberation mapping sample. We find that in most objects, the time delay of the H{alpha} emission is consistent with or slightly longer than that of H{beta}. We measure black hole masses using our measured time delays and line widths for these quasars. These black hole mass measurements are mostly consistent with expectations based on the local M_BH_-{sigma}* relationship, and are also consistent with single-epoch black hole mass measurements. This work increases the current sample size of reverberation-mapped active galaxies by about two- thirds and represents the first large sample of reverberation mapping observations beyond the local universe (z<0.3).
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/882/4
- Title:
- SDSS-RM project: H{alpha}, H{beta} & MgII lines
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/882/4
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The width of the broad emission lines in quasars is commonly characterized by either the FWHM or the square root of the second moment of the line profile ({sigma}line) and used as an indicator of the virial velocity of the broad-line region (BLR) in the estimation of black hole (BH) mass. We measure FWHM and {sigma}line for H{alpha}, H{beta}, and MgII broad lines in both the mean and rms spectra of a large sample of quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project. We introduce a new quantitative recipe to measure {sigma}line that is reproducible, is less susceptible to noise and blending in the wings, and scales with the intrinsic width of the line. We compare the four definitions of line width (FWHM and {sigma}line in mean and rms spectra, respectively) for each of the three broad lines and among different lines. There are strong correlations among different width definitions for each line, providing justification for using the line width measured in single-epoch spectroscopy as a virial velocity indicator. There are also strong correlations among different lines, suggesting that alternative lines to H{beta} can be used to estimate virial BH masses. We further investigate the correlations between virial BH masses using different line width definitions and the stellar velocity dispersion of the host galaxies and the dependence of line shape (characterized by the ratio FWHM/{sigma}line) on physical properties of the quasar. Our results provide further evidence that FWHM is more sensitive to the orientation of a flattened BLR geometry than {sigma}line, but the overall comparison between the virial BH mass and host stellar velocity dispersion does not provide conclusive evidence that one particular width definition is significantly better than the others.
- 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.