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Title: A Quasar Shedding Its Dust Cocoon at Redshift 2

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4];  [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [3];  [9]
  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming (China). Yunnan Observatories and Key Laboratory for the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects; Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  3. Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
  4. Nanjing Univ. (China)
  5. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States)
  6. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States). Steward Observatory
  7. Univ. of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (China)
  8. Sun Yat-Sen Univ., Zhuhai (China)
  9. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming (China). Yunnan Observatories and Key Laboratory for the Structure and Evolution of Celestial Objects
+ Show Author Affiliations

We present the first near-IR spectroscopy and joint analyses of multiwavelength observations for SDSS J082747.14+425241.1, a dust-reddened, weak broad emission-line quasar (WLQ) undergoing a remarkable broad-absorption line (BAL) transformation. The systemic redshift is more precisely measured to be z = 2.070 ± 0.001 using Hβ compared to z = 2.040 ± 0.003 using Mg ιι from the literature, signifying an extreme Mg ιι blueshift of 2140 ± 530 km s–1 relative to Hβ. Using the Hβ-based single-epoch scaling relation with a systematic uncertainty of 0.3 dex, its black hole (BH) mass and Eddington ratio are estimated to be MBH ~ 6.1 × 108M⊙ and λEdd ~ 0.71, indicative of being in a rapidly accreting phase. Our investigations confirm the WLQ nature and the LoBAL → HiBAL transformation, along with a factor of 2 increase in the Mg ιι+Fe ιι emission strength and a decrease of 0.1 in E(B – V) over two decades. The kinetic power of this LoBAL wind at R ~ 15 pc from its BH is estimated to be ~43% of the Eddington luminosity, sufficient for quasar feedback upon its host galaxy albeit with an order-of-magnitude uncertainty. This quasar provides a clear example of the long-sought scenario where LoBAL quasars are surrounded by dust cocoons, and wide-angle nuclear winds play a key role in the transition of red quasars evolving into the commonly seen blue quasars.

Research Organization:
US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington, DC (United States). Office of Science, Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation (NSF); CXC; National Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); National Key Research and Development Program of China; China Manned Space Project
Grant/Contract Number:
AST-2106990; GO0-21080X; 11703076; Y6XB016001; 11721303; 11991052; 2016YFA0400702; 11991053; CMS-CSST-2021-A06; 11991051; XDB09000000
OSTI ID:
1983252
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 930, Issue 1; ISSN 0004-637X
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
Astronomy & Astrophysics
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Supermassive black holes