Other
Scientific paper
May 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21441707b&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #214, #417.07; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.685
Other
Scientific paper
Mid-Infrared spectroscopy from the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope, is used to investigate highly energetic mass outflows associated with broad absorption line quasars (BALQSOs). These mass outflows are only detected in about 20% of the quasar population and their origin and significance remains uncertain. Many past studies across the electromagnetic spectrum have compared the emission characteristics of BALQSOs to other quasars, but have resulted in conflicting conclusions. We compare the mid-infrared spectra of a sample of BALQSOs with a sample of control quasars to test if these outflows represent a special stage of evolution for a quasar. Specifically, we compare the infrared continuum emission in the two samples to test for differences in the dust temperature, quantity and distribution in the quasars' environments. We find that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the mean BALQSO spectrum exhibits strong silicate emission around 10 and 18 micron, while the non-BAL quasar mean spectrum is nearly featureless. We compare these observations to recent model results which predict the mid-infrared emission spectrum of dust from the torus and from more extended emission regions to constrain the physical conditions of the dust in these two populations and explore differences in their environments. We interpret these results in the context of how BALQSOs are related to the general quasar population.
Behncke Sandra
Gabel Jack
Showalter Allison
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