A TEST OF THE FORMATION MECHANISM OF THE BROAD LINE REGION IN ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
- Center for Theoretical Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw (Poland)
- Key Laboratory for Particle Astrophysics, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19B Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049 (China)
- Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences, Bocni II 1401, CZ-141 00 Prague (Czech Republic)
The origin of the broad line region (BLR) in active galaxies remains unknown. It seems to be related to the underlying accretion disk, but an efficient mechanism is required to raise the material from the disk surface without giving signatures of the outflow that are too strong in the case of the low ionization lines. We discuss in detail two proposed mechanisms: (1) radiation pressure acting on dust in the disk atmosphere creating a failed wind and (2) the gravitational instability of the underlying disk. We compare the predicted location of the inner radius of the BLR in those two scenarios with the observed position obtained from the reverberation studies of several active galaxies. The failed dusty outflow model well represents the observational data while the predictions of the self-gravitational instability are not consistent with observations. The issue that remains is why do we not see any imprints of the underlying disk instability in the BLR properties.
- OSTI ID:
- 22661026
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 832; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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