2006/10/13 by R. Ganguly, Rajib Ganguly, Michael S. Brotherton +58
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Hubble space telescope #OVV quasar #Physics #Quasar #Redshift #Spectral line #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/510129
published as Astron.J.133:479-488,2007 · Uses aastex.cls, 21 pages in preprint mode, including 6 figures and 2 tables; accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (projected vol 133)
arxiv created 2006/10/13 · openalex publication_date 2007/01/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present low-resolution ultraviolet spectra of 14 low-redshift ( z em ≲ 0.8) quasars observed with the Hubble Space Telescope STIS as part of a Snapshot project to understand the relationship between quasar outflows and luminosity. By design, all observations cover the C IV emission line. Ten of the quasars are from the Hamburg-ESO catalog, three are from the Palomar-Green catalog, and one is from the Parkes catalog. The sample contains a few interesting quasars, including two broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (HE 0143-3535 and HE 0436-2614), one quasar with a mini-BAL (HE 1105-0746), and one quasar with associated narrow absorption (HE 0409-5004). These BAL quasars are among the brightest known (although not the most luminous) since they lie at z em < 0.8. We compare the properties of these BAL quasars to the z em < 0.5 Palomar-Green and z em > 1.4 Large Bright Quasar Survey samples. By design, our objects sample luminosities in between these two surveys, and our four absorbed objects are consistent with the v ∼ L 0.62 relation derived by Laor & Brandt (2002). Another quasar, HE 0441-2826, contains extremely weak emission lines, and our spectrum is consistent with a simple power-law continuum. The quasar is radio-loud but has a steep spectral index and a lobe-dominated morphology, which argues against it being a blazar. The unusual spectrum of this quasar resembles the spectra of the quasars PG 1407+265, SDSS J1136+0242, and PKS 1004+13, for which several possible explanations have been entertained.