2002/08/28 by D. Branch, David Branch, Karen M. Leighly +3 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Absorption spectroscopy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Emission spectrum #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Interpretation (philosophy) #QSOS #Quasar #Spectral line #Spectrum (functional analysis) #Supernova #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/344472
published as Astrophys.J. 578 (2002) L37-L40 · 9 pages and 3 figures, accepted by ApJ Letters
arxiv created 2002/08/28 · openalex publication_date 2002/09/24 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The usual interpretation of the spectrum of a broad absorption line quasar (BALQSO) is that a broadband continuum from the central engine plus broad emission lines from a surrounding region emerge from near the center of the QSO and that broad absorption lines are superposed in a separate outlying region. For FBQS 1214+2803, designated as an FeLoBAL QSO because its spectrum contains numerous absorption features from excited states of Fe II, we explore an alternative interpretation based on resonance scattering. In this model, line emission and absorption occur in the same line-forming region. A resonance-scattering synthetic spectrum computed with the parameterized supernova synthetic-spectrum code SYNOW fits the spectrum of FBQS 1214+2803 rather well, so the resonance-scattering model merits further study. Some implications of the model and its possible applicability to other QSOs are briefly discussed.