Appearance versus disappearance of broad absorption line troughs in quasars

Mishra, Sapna; Vivek, M.; Chand, Hum; Joshi, Ravi

doi:10.1093/mnras/stab782

Appearance versus disappearance of broad absorption line troughs in quasars

Journal Article · Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stab782· OSTI ID:1781973

Mishra, Sapna ^[1]; Vivek, M. ^[2]; Chand, Hum ^[3]; Joshi, Ravi ^[4]

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Manora Peak, Nainital 263002, India, Department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala, Bengaluru 560034, India
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Manora Peak, Nainital 263002, India, Department of Physics and Astronomical Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP), Dharamshala 176215, India
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Koramangala, Bengaluru 560034, India, Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

ABSTRACT

We present a new set of 84 broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (1.7 < zem < 4.4) exhibiting an appearance of C iv BAL troughs over 0.3–4.8 rest-frame years by comparing the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release (SDSSDR)-7, SDSSDR-12, and SDSSDR-14 quasar catalogues. We contrast the nature of BAL variability in this appearing BAL quasar sample with a disappearing BAL quasar sample studied in the literature by comparing the quasar’s intrinsic, BAL trough, and continuum parameters between the two samples. We find that appearing BAL quasars have relatively higher redshift and smaller probed time-scales as compared to the disappearing BAL quasars. To mitigate the effect of any redshift bias, we created control samples of appearing and disappearing BAL quasars that have similar redshift distribution. We find that the appearing BAL quasars are relatively brighter and have shallower and wider BAL troughs compared to the disappearing BAL sample. The distribution of quasar continuum variability parameters between the two samples is clearly separated, with the appearance of the BAL troughs being accompanied by the dimming of the continuum and vice versa. Spectral index variations in the two samples also point to the anticorrelation between the BAL trough and continuum variations consistent with the ‘bluer when brighter’ trend in quasars. We show that the intrinsic dust model is less likely to be a favourable scenario in explaining BAL appearance/disappearance. Our analysis suggests that the extreme variations of BAL troughs like BAL appearance/disappearance are mainly driven by changes in the ionization conditions of the absorbing gas.

View Journal Article

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

OSTI ID:: 1781973

Journal Information:: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 504; ISSN 0035-8711

Publisher:: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

References (62)

Radiation-driven winds from luminous accretion discs Proga, Daniel; Stone, James M.; Drew, Janet E. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 295, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01337.x	journal	April 1998
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog: Twelfth data release Pâris, Isabelle; Petitjean, Patrick; Ross, Nicholas P. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 597 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201527999	journal	January 2017
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Catalog: Fourteenth data release Pâris, Isabelle; Petitjean, Patrick; Aubourg, Éric Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 613 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732445	journal	May 2018
C IV broad absorption line disappearance in a large SDSS QSO sample De Cicco, D.; Brandt, W. N.; Grier, C. J. Astronomy & Astrophysics, Vol. 616 https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201732497	journal	August 2018
Time Variability of Broad-Absorption-Line QSOs Barlow, Thomas A. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 106 https://doi.org/10.1086/133411	journal	May 1994
A redshift difference between high and low ionization emission-line regions in QSOs - Evidence for radial motions Gaskell, C. M. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 263 https://doi.org/10.1086/160481	journal	December 1982
Comparisons of the emission-line and continuum properties of broad absorption line and normal quasi-stellar objects Weymann, Ray J.; Morris, Simon L.; Foltz, Craig B. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 373 https://doi.org/10.1086/170020	journal	May 1991
Low-ionization broad absorption lines in quasars Voit, G. M.; Weymann, Ray J.; Korista, Kirk T. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 413 https://doi.org/10.1086/172980	journal	August 1993
Accretion Disk Winds from Active Galactic Nuclei Murray, N.; Chiang, J.; Grossman, S. A. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 451 https://doi.org/10.1086/176238	journal	October 1995
Stellar Contrails in Quasi-stellar Objects: The Origin of Broad Absorption Lines Scoville, Nick; Norman, Colin The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 451 https://doi.org/10.1086/176239	journal	October 1995
Maps of Dust Infrared Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation Foregrounds Schlegel, David J.; Finkbeiner, Douglas P.; Davis, Marc The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 500, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/305772	journal	June 1998
Properties of Radio‐selected Broad Absorption Line Quasars from the First Bright Quasar Survey Becker, Robert H.; White, Richard L.; Gregg, Michael D. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 538, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/309099	journal	July 2000
Correcting for the Effects of Interstellar Extinction Fitzpatrick, Edward L. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. 111, Issue 755 https://doi.org/10.1086/316293	journal	January 1999
A Structure for Quasars Elvis, Martin The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 545, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/317778	journal	December 2000
High‐Resolution Keck Spectra of the Associated Absorption Lines in 3C 191 Hamann, Frederick W.; Barlow, T. A.; Chaffee, F. C. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 550, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/319733	journal	March 2001
Composite Quasar Spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Vanden Berk, Daniel E.; Richards, Gordon T.; Bauer, Amanda The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 122, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/321167	journal	August 2001
The Luminosity Dependence of Ultraviolet Absorption in Active Galactic Nuclei Laor, Ari; Brandt, W. N. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 569, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/339476	journal	April 2002
The Ionized Gas and Nuclear Environment in NGC 3783. I. Time‐averaged 900 Kilosecond Chandra Grating Spectroscopy Kaspi, Shai; Brandt, W. N.; George, Ian M. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 574, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/341113	journal	August 2002
A Quantitative Comparison of the Small Magellanic Cloud, Large Magellanic Cloud, and Milky Way Ultraviolet to Near‐Infrared Extinction Curves Gordon, Karl D.; Clayton, Geoffrey C.; Misselt, K. A. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 594, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/376774	journal	September 2003
Dynamics of Line‐driven Disk Winds in Active Galactic Nuclei. II. Effects of Disk Radiation Proga, Daniel; Kallman, Timothy R. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 616, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/425117	journal	December 2004
Broad Absorption Line Variability in Repeat Quasar Observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Lundgren, Britt F.; Wilhite, Brian C.; Brunner, Robert J. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 656, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1086/510202	journal	February 2007
Outflows and the Physical Properties of Quasars Ganguly, Rajib; Brotherton, Michael S.; Cales, Sabrina The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 665, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/519759	journal	August 2007
Quasar Broad Absorption Line Variability on Multiyear Timescales Gibson, Robert R.; Brandt, W. N.; Schneider, Donald P. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 675, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1086/527462	journal	March 2008
The Sloan Digital sky Survey Quasar Catalog. v. Seventh data Release Schneider, Donald P.; Richards, Gordon T.; Hall, Patrick B. The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 139, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/139/6/2360	journal	April 2010
The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise): Mission Description and Initial On-Orbit Performance Wright, Edward L.; Eisenhardt, Peter R. M.; Mainzer, Amy K. The Astronomical Journal, Vol. 140, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-6256/140/6/1868	journal	November 2010
A Catalog of Broad Absorption line Quasars in Sloan Digital sky Survey data Release 5 Gibson, Robert R.; Jiang, Linhua; Brandt, W. N. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 692, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/692/1/758	journal	February 2009
First Results from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey Drake, A. J.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Mahabal, A. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 696, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/696/1/870	journal	April 2009
THE EVOLUTION OF QUASAR C IV AND Si IV BROAD ABSORPTION LINES OVER MULTI-YEAR TIMESCALES Gibson, Robert R.; Brandt, W. N.; Gallagher, S. C. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 713, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/713/1/220	journal	March 2010
ULTRAVIOLET CONTINUUM COLOR VARIABILITY OF LUMINOUS SLOAN DIGITAL SKY SURVEY QSOs Sakata, Yu; Morokuma, Tomoki; Minezaki, Takeo The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 731, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/731/1/50	journal	March 2011
The Color Variability of Quasars Schmidt, Kasper B.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Shields, Joseph C. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 744, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/744/2/147	journal	December 2011
Broad Absorption line Disappearance on Multi-Year Timescales in a Large Quasar Sample Filiz Ak, N.; Brandt, W. N.; Hall, P. B. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 757, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/757/2/114	journal	September 2012
Broad Absorption line Variability on Multi-Year Timescales in a Large Quasar Sample Filiz Ak, N.; Brandt, W. N.; Hall, P. B. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 777, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/777/2/168	journal	October 2013
Evidence for Large Temperature Fluctuations in Quasar Accretion Disks from Spectral Variability Ruan, John J.; Anderson, Scott F.; Dexter, Jason The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 783, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/783/2/105	journal	February 2014
Outflow and hot dust Emission in Broad Absorption line Quasars Zhang, Shaohua; Wang, Huiyuan; Wang, Tinggui The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 786, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/786/1/42	journal	April 2014
The Discovery of Timescale-Dependent Color Variability of Quasars Sun, Yu-Han; Wang, Jun-Xian; Chen, Xiao-Yang The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 792, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/792/1/54	journal	August 2014
Evidence for Photoionization-Driven Broad Absorption line Variability Wang, Tinggui; Yang, Chenwei; Wang, Huiyuan The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 814, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/814/2/150	journal	December 2015
A Catalog of Quasar Properties from Sloan Digital sky Survey data Release 7 Shen, Yue; Richards, Gordon T.; Strauss, Michael A. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 194, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0067-0049/194/2/45	journal	June 2011
Variability in quasar broad absorption line outflows – III. What happens on the shortest time-scales? Capellupo, D. M.; Hamann, F.; Shields, J. C. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 429, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/sts427	journal	January 2013
A variable P舁v broad absorption line and quasar outflow energetics Capellupo, D. M.; Hamann, F.; Barlow, T. A. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 444, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu1502	journal	September 2014
Variability in Low Ionization Broad Absorption Line outflows Vivek, M.; Srianand, R.; Petitjean, P. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 440, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu288	journal	March 2014
Broad absorption line variability in radio-loud quasars Welling, C. A.; Miller, B. P.; Brandt, W. N. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 440, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu402	journal	April 2014
C iv absorption-line variability in X-ray-bright broad absorption-line quasi-stellar objects Joshi, Ravi; Chand, Hum; Srianand, Raghunathan Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 442, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu840	journal	June 2014
Variability of QSOs with variable regions in broad absorption troughs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey He, Zhi-Cheng; Bian, Wei-Hao; Ge, Xue Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 454, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2114	journal	October 2015
Transient C iv broad absorption lines in radio-detected QSOs Vivek, M.; Srianand, R.; Gupta, N. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 455, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv2240	journal	November 2015
Broad absorption line disappearance and emergence using multiple-epoch spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey McGraw, S. M.; Brandt, W. N.; Grier, C. J. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 469, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx1063	journal	May 2017
A multiwavelength continuum characterization of high-redshift broad absorption line quasars Tuccillo, D.; Bruni, G.; DiPompeo, M. A. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 467, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stx333	journal	February 2017
Correlation between the ionizing continuum and the variable C iv broad absorption line in multi-epoch observations of SDSS J141007.74+541203.3 Huang, Hong-Yan; Pan, Cai-Juan; Lu, Wei-Jian Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 487, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz1454	journal	June 2019
Ionization-driven intrinsic absorption line variability of BAL quasars in the Stripe 82 region Vivek, M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 486, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stz947	journal	April 2019
Correlation between the variation of the ionizing continuum and broad absorption lines Lu, Wei-Jian; Lin, Ying-Ru; Qin, Yi-Ping Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, Vol. 473, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slx176	journal	October 2017
Improved redshifts for SDSS quasar spectra: Improved SDSS redshifts Hewett, Paul C.; Wild, Vivienne Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.16648.x	journal	April 2010
Variability in quasar broad absorption line outflows - I. Trends in the short-term versus long-term data: Variability in quasar BAL outflows Capellupo, D. M.; Hamann, F.; Shields, J. C. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 413, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18185.x	journal	February 2011
Variability in quasar broad absorption line outflows - II. Multi-epoch monitoring of Si iv and C iv broad absorption line variability: Variability in quasar BAL outflows - II Capellupo, D. M.; Hamann, F.; Shields, J. C. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 422, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20846.x	journal	May 2012
Emergence of a quasar outflow Hamann, F.; Kaplan, K. F.; Hidalgo, P. Rodríguez Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00554.x	journal	October 2008
Observational Evidence of Active Galactic Nuclei Feedback Fabian, A. C. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Vol. 50, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-astro-081811-125521	journal	September 2012
The Optical Variability of sdss Quasars from Multi-Epoch Spectroscopy. ii. Color Variation Guo (郭恒潇), Hengxiao; Gu, Minfeng The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 822, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/822/1/26	journal	April 2016
C iv Broad Absorption line Acceleration in Sloan Digital sky Survey Quasars Grier, C. J.; Brandt, W. N.; Hall, P. B. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 824, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/824/2/130	journal	June 2016
Emergence and Variability of Broad Absorption Line Quasar Outflows Rogerson, J. A.; Hall, P. B.; Ahmed, N. S. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 862, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aabfe5	journal	July 2018
Deceleration of C iv and Si iv Broad Absorption Lines in X-Ray Bright Quasar SDSS-J092345+512710 Joshi, Ravi; Srianand, Raghunathan; Chand, Hum The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 871, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aaf500	journal	January 2019
Correlations between the Variation of the Ionizing Continuum and Broad Absorption Lines in Individual Quasars Lu, Wei-Jian; Lin, Ying-Ru The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 883, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab3a39	journal	September 2019
A Kinematic Shift of the C iv Broad Absorption Line in Quasar SDSS J120819.29+035559.4 Lu, Wei-Jian; Lin, Ying-Ru The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 887, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab53d7	journal	December 2019
Variation of Ionizing Continuum: The Main Driver of Broad Absorption Line Variability He, Zhicheng; Wang, Tinggui; Zhou, Hongyan The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Vol. 229, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/aa647a	journal	March 2017
Broad Absorption Line Disappearance/Emergence in Multiple Ions in a Weak Emission-line Quasar Yi, W.; Vivek, M.; Brandt, W. N. The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 870, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/aafc1d	journal	January 2019

Similar Records

BROAD ABSORPTION LINE DISAPPEARANCE ON MULTI-YEAR TIMESCALES IN A LARGE QUASAR SAMPLE

Journal Article · Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22092213

BROAD ABSORPTION LINE VARIABILITY ON MULTI-YEAR TIMESCALES IN A LARGE QUASAR SAMPLE

Journal Article · Sat Nov 09 23:00:00 EST 2013 · Astrophysical Journal · OSTI ID:22270554

Ionization-driven intrinsic absorption line variability of BAL quasars in the Stripe 82 region

Journal Article · Tue Apr 02 20:00:00 EDT 2019 · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society · OSTI ID:1508177

Appearance versus disappearance of broad absorption line troughs in quasars

Citation Formats

References (62)

Similar Records

Related Subjects