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American Astronomical Society, Astrophysical Journal, 2(538), p. L103-L106, 2000

DOI: 10.1086/312805

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Clues to Quasar Broad Line Region Geometry and Kinematics

Journal article published in 2000 by Marianne Vestergaard ORCID, Belinda Jane Wilkes, P. D. Barthel
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

We present evidence that the high-velocity CIV lambda 1549 emission line gas of radio-loud quasars may originate in a disk-like configuration, in close proximity to the accretion disk often assumed to emit the low-ionization lines. For a sample of 36 radio-loud z~2 quasars we find the 20--30% peak width to show significant inverse correlations with the fractional radio core-flux density, R, the radio axis inclination indicator. Highly inclined systems have broader line wings, consistent with a high-velocity field perpendicular to the radio axis. By contrast, the narrow line-core shows no such relation with R, so the lowest velocity CIV-emitting gas has an inclination independent velocity field. We propose that this low-velocity gas is located at higher disk-altitudes than the high-velocity gas. A planar origin of the high-velocity CIV-emission is consistent with the current results and with an accretion disk-wind emitting the broad lines. A spherical distribution of randomly orbiting broad-line clouds and a polar high-ionization outflow are ruled out. ; Comment: 5 Latex pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters