American Astronomical Society, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 2(783), p. L34, 2014
DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/783/2/l34
Full text: Download
New reverberation mapping measurements of the size of the optical iron emission-line region in quasars are provided, and a tentative size-luminosity relation for this component is reported. Combined with lag measurements in low-luminosity sources, the results imply an emission-region size that is comparable to and at most twice that of the H$β$ line, and is characterized by a similar luminosity dependence. This suggests that the physics underlying the formation of the optical iron blends in quasars may be similar to that of other broad emission lines. ; Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, ApJL published