Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Aug 1995
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1995mnras.275.1125o&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 275, Issue 4, pp. 1125-1145.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
17
Radiative Transfer, Techniques: Spectroscopic, Galaxies: Active, Galaxies: Nuclei, Quasars: Emission Lines
Scientific paper
We investigate the effect of non-linear line response on the observed variability characteristics of the broad emission lines in AGN. The line response is intrinsically non-linear due to the dependence of the thermal and ionization structure of the line-emitting gas on the incident continuum flux. The BLR models we use include the effect of emission-line anisotropy and incorporate a mixture of optically thick and thin gas. We find that non-linear response causes a luminosity dependence in the form of the response function, the line variability time-scale, the strength of the line relative to the continuum, and the line profile. We discuss the observational consequences of these dependences on attempts to determine the BLR structure. Non-linear response may also influence the observed AGN mass-luminosity relation, and must be allowed for when trying to constrain variability of the BLR structure with time or luminosity.
Goad Michael R.
Gondhalekar P. M.
O'Brien Thomas P.
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