Radio quiet quasar main sequence - a hidden parameter behind it

B. Czerny, P. Du, J.-M. Wang, C. Wildy

Center for Theoretical Physics PAS Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland

Active Galactic Nuclei: What's in a name?June 27 - July 1, 2016

ESO, Garching bei München, Germany

Stellar Main Sequence

Herzschrung-Herschel diagram started as purely observational, based on some spectral indicators.

We now know that the true govering parameter is the star effective temperature, or, equivalently, the stelar mass

The width of the main sequence is related to age and metallicity

There are outliers, of course (AGB etc.), i.e. evolved stars not located on the main sequence any more

PCA approach - Eigenvector 1Boroson & Green (1992) found a single parameter which is responsible for most of the dispersion in the observed properties of type 1 AGN.

AGN main sequence

?

Early ideas on the driving parameter

The natural parameters of the accretion disk are:

Black hole massAccretion rate (Eddington ratio)Spin Inclination

Extinction (?)

Since we concentrate on the type 1 objects, inclination should not be a problem.

The obvious suspect: Eddington ratio

Boroson & Green (1992), Pounds et al. (1995),…. NLS1 concentrating in the right part of the diagram

Many more sources

Simplified definition of the EV1

EV1 = R_FeII

R_FeII =

EW(FeII)/EW(Hbeta)

Observational progress with SDSS

Shen & Ho (2014)

L/LEdd

M_BH

i

Where high L/Ledd sources are?

Lijiang data from Pu et al. 2016

Trends in the 'uncorrected' sample

Trends overplotted the 'corrected sample'

Lijiang high Eddington ratio objects

The studied properties are predominantly:

Line kinematic width Line ratios

Logicaly, this should mostly depend on:

Inclination (line kinematic width) Shape of the SED (Spectral Energy Density)

And shape of the SED depends, if we use a simple disk model, on the maximum disk temperature

Starting from the theoretical side...

T_Eff_max^4 ~ M_BH Mdot/M_BH^3 f(spin)

~ L/L_Edd/M_BH f(spin)

So the simple expectation for the key parameter is

Not just the Eddington ratio

but

the ratio of the Eddington ratio to the black hole mass

with some dispersion due to the spin

Is it really working?There is a clrear relation between this new main sequence parameter and R_FeII but only for small values of R_FeII.

Data accuracy?

Or the SED peak does not depend on the new parameter for large values of R_FeII.

An example – broad band modelling of REJ 1034+396

Not just the spin, but also disk corona/hot skin may cause the location of the SED maximum at the same position… But this happens only if the corona is optically thick.

Czerny et al. 2016

Future work

Tests of dispersion for low values of R_FeII – good interpretation should decrease the dispersion around the main sequence

Better description of HWHM (Hbeta)

Observational determination of the SED maximum for selected quasars