THE PREVALENCE OF NARROW OPTICAL Fe II EMISSION LINES IN TYPE 1 ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Journal Article · Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/721/2/L143· OSTI ID:21452782

Xiaobo, Dong; Jianguo, Wang; Tinggui, Wang; Huiyuan, Wang; Hongyan, Zhou ^[1]; Ho, Luis C ^[2]; Xiaohui, Fan ^[3]

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1. Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)
2. Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
3. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

From detailed spectral analysis of a large sample of low-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we demonstrate-statistically for the first time-that narrow optical Fe II emission lines, both permitted and forbidden, are prevalent in type 1 AGNs. Remarkably, these optical lines are completely absent in type 2 AGNs, across a wide luminosity range, from Seyfert 2 galaxies to type 2 quasars. We suggest that the narrow Fe II-emitting gas is confined to a disk-like geometry in the innermost regions of the narrow-line region on physical scales smaller than the obscuring torus.

• OSTI ID: 21452782
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 721, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/721/2/L143; ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCRETION DISKS
EMISSION
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
LUMINOSITY
QUASARS
RED SHIFT
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES