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On the ratio of the infrared-to-ultraviolet continuum to the X-rays in quasars and active galaxies

Journal Article · · Astrophys. J.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/167327· OSTI ID:5629396
A sample of 122 quasars and Seyfert galaxies was analyzed and it was found that the NIR 7500 A rest frame luminosity is more linearly related to the X-ray luminosity than is the optical luminosity. It is also found that the mean spectral slope between 7500 and 4200 A in the rest frame monotonically flattens with luminosity over more than three orders of magnitude. The present results support models which attribute the IR and X-ray continua to linked nonthermal processes such as synchrotron self-Compton, while the blue-UV bump comes from a different source, such as an accretion disk. 46 refs.
Research Organization:
NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (USA); Stanford Univ., CA (USA)
OSTI ID:
5629396
Journal Information:
Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 339; ISSN ASJOA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English