Similarity of jet radiation between flat spectrum radio quasars and GeV narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies: a universal δ-Lc correlation

By modeling the broadband spectral energy distributions （SEDs） of a typical flat spectrum radio quasar （FSRQ, 3C 279） and two GeV narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies （NLSls, PMN J0948＋0022 and 1H 0323＋342） in different flux stages with one-zone leptonic models, we find a universal correlation between their Doppler factors （δ） and peak luminosities （Lc） of external Compton scattering bumps. Compiling a combined sample of FSRQs and GeV NLSls, it is found that both FSRQs and GeV NLSls in different stages and in different sources follow the same δ-Lc correlation well. This indicates that the variations of observed luminosities may be essentially due to the Doppler boosting effect. The universal δ-Lo relation between FSRQs and GeV NLS 1 s in different stages may be further evidence that the particle acceleration and radiation mechanisms for the two kinds of sources are similar. In addition, by replacing Lc with the observed luminosity in the Fermi/LAT band （LLAT）, this correlation holds and it may serve as an empirical indicator of δ. We estimate the δ values with LLAT for 484 FSRQs in the Fermi/LAT Catalog and they range from 3 to 41, with a median of 16, which are statistically consistent with the values derived by other methods.

The Difference between the α-disks of Seyfert 1 Galaxies and Quasars

In a previous paper, it was suggested that contamination of the nuclear luminosity by the host galaxy plays an important role in determining the parameters of the standard a disk of AGNs. Using the nuclear absolute B band magnitude instead of the total absolute B band magnitude, we have recalculated the central black hole masses, accretion rates and disk inclinations for 20 Seyfert 1 galaxies and 17 Palomar-Green (PG) quasars. It is found that a small value of a is needed for the Seyfert 1 galaxies than for the PG quasars. This difference in a possibly leads to the different properties of Seyfert 1 galaxies and quasars. Furthermore, we find most of the objects in this sample are not accreting at super-Eddington rates if we adopt the nuclear optical luminosity in our calculation.

Do Radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei really follow the same M_(BH)-σ_* Relation as Normal Galaxies?

In an examination of the relationship between the black hole mass MBH and stellar velocity dispersion σ＊ in radio-loud active galactic nuclei （AGNs）, we studied two effects which may cause uncertainties in the black hole mass estimates of radio-loud AGNs： the relativistic beaming effect on the observed optical continuum radiation and the orientation effect on the broad emission line width. After correcting these two effects, we re-examined the MBH- σ[OIII] relation for a sample of radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs, and found the relation for radio-loud AGNs still deviated from that for nearby normal galaxies and radio-quiet AGNs. We also found there is no significant correlation between radio jet power and narrow [OIII] line width, indicating absence of strong interaction between radio jet and narrow line region. It may be that the deviation of the MBH-σ＊ relation of radio-loud AGNs is intrinsic, or that the [OIII] line width is not a good indicator of σ＊ for radio-loud AGNs.

Radio Identifications of Markarian Galaxies and the Correlation between Radio and Far-Infrared Properties

By checking DSS optical images and NVSS radio images, 782 Markarian galaxies were identified to be NVSS radio sources. A comparison of the radio luminosity at 1.4GHz and the far-infrared （FIR） luminosity for 468 “normal” galaxies shows a tight correlation. Most of the Seyfert galaxies and quasars follow the radio-FIR relation deduced from the “normal” galaxy sample, but with a somewhat larger scatter. A total 167 Markarian galaxies, comprising 100 “normal” galaxies, 66 Seyfert galaxies and one quasar, have either excess radio emission or much lower FIR spectral index α（25 μm, 60 μm）. These galaxies may be classified as “AGN-powered”. For “normal” galaxies, the average q value （defined as the log ratio between FIR and radio luminosities） is 2.3. There seems a trend for q to slightly decrease with increasing radio luminosity. This may imply that the ongoing active star formation in galaxies with higher radio luminosities is more efficient in heating the cosmic-ray electrons.

The Multi-Wavelength Quasar Survey III. Quasars in Field 836

This is the third paper in a series connected with our Multiwavelength Quasar Survey. The survey is aimed to provide a quasar sample more complete than any previous survey by using a combined selection technique to reduce selection effects. We present the observational results for the X-ray candidates in field f836. We found 15 X-ray AGNs in this field of which eight are new discoveries. The X-ray data and optical spectra of these AGNs are given. We give the X-ray candidate selection criteria, which proved to be highly efficient in isolating X-ray AGNs.

On the Black Hole - Bulge Mass Ratios in Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

We present estimated ratios of the central black hole mass to the bulge mass (Mbh/Mbulge) for 15 Narrow Line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s). It is found that NLS1s apparently have lower mass ratios: the average mass ratio is about 1 × 10-4 with a spread of 2, which is one order of magnitude lower than for Broad Line AGNs and quiescent galaxies. This lower value, as compared to that established essentially for all other types of galaxies, can be accounted for by an underestimation of the black hole masses and an overestimation of the bulge masses in the NLS1s.

The Multi-Wavelength Quasar Survey IV. Quasars in the Leo Cluster

We aim to provide a quasar sample that is more complete than any previous surveys by using a combined selection technique to reduce the selection effects. Here we present the observational results for the X-ray candidates in the field of the Leo Cluster. We found 33 X-ray AGNs in this field of which 10 are new discoveries. The X-ray data and optical spectra of these AGNs are given. We also study the near-IR properties of the X-ray-selected AGNs by using the data from 2MASS. Most of the AGNs in our sample span the color range 0.0〈B-J〈2.5,1.0〈 J-Ks 〈2.0 and 0.5〈H-Ks〈1.2.

A new three-stage evolution model for millimeter to centimeter wavelength outbursts in BL Lacertae

The multi-frequency light curves of BL Lacertae during 1997.5 - 1999.5 have been modeled by four outbursts, each having a 3-stage evolution in the （Sm, vm） plane with distinct rising-plateau-decaying phases. It is shown that the observed light curves can be well fitted for the eight frequencies from 350 GHz to 4.8 GHz. The main characteristics of the model-fitting are; （1） the outbursts are found to have very flat spectra with an optically thin spectral index α （defined as Sv α u^-α） of about 0.15. This is consistent with the results previously obtained by Valtaoja et al. （1992）; （2） it is found that there is no spectral flattening between the rising-plateau phase and the decay phase. In other words, the optically thin spectral index does not change from the rising-plateau phase to the decay phase. These features are in contrast to the 3-stage shocked-in-jet model proposed by Marscher ＆ Gear （1985） for submm- IR-optical flares, in which a spectral flattening of △α = 0.5 is predicted when a transition occurs from the Compton/synchrotron phase （or rising-plateau phase） to the adiabatic phase （or decay phase） with α≥ 0.5 for the shock being non-radiative. We propose a new model to interpret the fitting results, suggesting that the 3-stage evolution of the mm-cm outbursts in BL Lacertae may be related to the process of shock formation and propagation in a highly collimated jet （for example, a ＇parabolic＇ jet）. In particular, during the rising phase, the thickness of the synchrotron-radiating region created by the shock may rapidly increase with time （relative to the jet width） due to the rapid injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field, and this leads to the observed behavior that the turnover flux density Sm rapidly increases while the turnover frequency um decreases. In the decay phase, the emitting plasma enters into a free expansion regime without further injection of relativistic electrons and a magnetic field （for example, when a transition from a collimated regime into a conical regime occurs）. The plateau phase is a short period between the two regimes with no distinct features determined.

Correcting the Contamination of Second-order Spectra:Improving HαMeasurements in Reverberation Mapping Campaigns

Long-term spectroscopic monitoring campaigns on active galactic nuclei(AGNs)provide a wealth of information about its interior structure and kinematics.However,a number of the observations suffer from the contamination of second-order spectra(SOS)which will introduce some undesirable uncertainties at the red side of the spectra.In this paper,we test the effect of SOS and propose a method to correct it in the time domain spectroscopic data using the simultaneously observed comparison stars.Based on the reverberation mapping(RM)data of NGC 5548 in2019,one of the most intensively monitored AGNs by the Lijiang 2.4 m telescope,we find that the scientific object,comparison star,and spectrophotometric standard star can jointly introduce up to~30%SOS for Grism 14.This irregular but smooth SOS significantly affects the flux density and profile of the emission line,while having little effect on the light curve.After applying our method to each spectrum,we find that the SOS can be corrected effectively.The deviation between corrected and intrinsic spectra is~2%,and the impact of SOS on time lag is very minor.This method makes it possible to obtain the HαRM measurements from archival data provided that the spectral shape of the AGN under investigation does not have a large change.

The Correlation between Gamma-ray and Radio Emissions in γ-ray Loud Blazars

We collect 119 γ-ray-loud blazars (97 flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and 22 BL Lacertae objects (BL Lacs)), and investigate possible correlations between their γ-ray emission (maximum, minimum and average values) at 1 GeV and the radio emission at 8.4 GHz. Our main results are as follows. For the lower state γ-ray data, there is no correlation between the γ-ray and radio flux density; For the high state γ-ray data, there are good correlations for the whole 119 blazars and 97 FSRQs, and a weak correlation for the 22 BL Lac objects; For the average γ-ray data, there are good correlations. According to our analysis, we propose that the γ-rays are associated with the radio emission from the jet, and that the γ-ray emission is likely from the SSC process in this case.

Radio Luminosity,Black Hole Mass and Eddington Ratio for Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the MBH-σ＊ relation for radio-loud quasars with redshifl z 〈 0.83 in Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）. The sample consists of 3772 quasars with better models of the H/4 and [O Ⅲ] lines and available radio luminosity, including 306 radio-loud quasars, 3466 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity or upper-limit of radio luminosity （181 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity）. The virial supermassive black hole mass （MBH） is calculated from the broad Hβline, and the host stellar velocity dispersion （σ＊） is traced by the core [O Ⅲ] gaseous velocity dispersion. The radio luminosity and radio loudness are derived from the FIRST catalog. Our results are as follows： （1） For radio-quiet quasars, we confirm that there is no obvious deviation from the MBH-σ＊ relation defined for inactive galaxies when the uncertainties in ~IBH and the luminosity bias are concerned. （2） We find that the radio-loud quasars deviate more from the MBH-σ＊ relation than do the radio-quiet quasars. This deviation is only partly due to a possible cosmological evolution of the MBH-σ＊ relation and the luminosity bias. （3） The radio luminosity is proportional to MBH1.28＋0.23-0.16（LBol/LEdd） ^1.29＋0.31-0.24 for radio-quiet quasars and to -MBH3.10＋0.60-0.70（LBol/LEdd）^4.18＋1.40-1.10 - for radio-loud quasars. The weaker dependence of the radio luminosity on the mass and the Eddington ratio for radio-loud quasars shows that other physical effects would account for their radio luminosities, such as the spin of the black hole.

Strong optical and UV intermediate-width emission lines in the quasar SDSS J232444.80–094600.3:dust-free and intermediate-density gas at the skin of dusty torus?

Emission lines from the broad emission line region （BELR） and the narrow emission line region （NELR） of active galactic nuclei （AGNs） have been extensively studied. However, emission lines are rarely detected between these two regions. We present a detailed analysis of quasar SDSS J232444.80-094600.3 （SDSS J2324-0946）, which is remarkable for its strong intermediate-width emission lines （IELs） with FWHM ≈ 1800 km s^-1. The IEL component is present in different emission lines, including the permitted lines Lyαλ1216, CⅣ λ1549, semiforbidden line C Ⅲ] λ1909, and forbidden lines [OⅢ] ss4959, 5007. With the aid of photo-ionization models, we found that the IELs are produced by gas with a hydrogen density of nH - 10^6.2 -- 10^6.3 cm^-3, a distance from the central ionizing source of R - 35 - 50 pc, a covering factor of - 6%, and a dust-to-gas ratio of ≤ 4% that of the SMC. We suggest that the strong IELs of this quasar are produced by nearly dust-free and intermediate-density gas located at the skin of the dusty torus. Such strong IELs, which serve as a useful diagnostic, can provide an avenue to study the properties of gas between the BELR and the NELR.

Radio observations of the first three-months of Fermi AGN at 4.8 GHz

Using the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope, sources from the first three months of the Fermi-large area telescope detected active galactic nuclei （AGN） catalog with a declination of 〉 0° were observed in 2009 at 4.8 GHz. The radio flux density ap- peared to correlate with the γ-ray intensity. Intra-day variability （IDV） observations were performed in March, April and May 2009 for 42 selected γ-ray bright blazars, and ~60% of them showed evidence of flux variability at 4.8 GHz during the IDV observations. The IDV detection rate was higher than that in previous flat-spectrum AGN samples. IDV appeared more often in the very long baseline interferometry-core dominant blazars, and the non-IDV blazars showed relatively ＂steeper＂ spectral in- dices than the IDV blazars. Pronounced inter-month variability was also found in two BL Lac objects： J0112＋2244 and J0238＋1636.

A Peculiar Broad Line Radio Galaxy 1938-155:VLA Observation at 90 cm

We observed 1938-155, a broad line radio galaxy (BLRG), with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 90cm with an angular resolution of 6.8' × 4.0'. The source consists of two components separated by 4 arcsec (- 20kpc, for H0 = 65km s-1 Mpc-1, q0 = 0.5) along the SE-NW direction. Both components show steep-spectra with a similar spectral index α - 0.83 ± 0.07 (Sv ∝ v-α). The bright double components are surrounded by a low-brightness cocoon. The radio properties of the two bright components are consistent with the hot spots produced by twin jets. An upper limit of - 0.0008 for the core dominance parameter (R) is inferred, suggesting there is no prominent radio core in the source. Assuming a modest viewing angle 30f77, a jet velocity is estimated - 0.07 c, based on the jet to counter-jet brightness ratio (J). The lower limit in jet speed inferred is consistent with no Doppler beaming effect on the jet. The radio galaxy 1938-155 could be an exceptional BLRG with no prominent radio core or jet.

SDSS J022119.84+005628.4:A Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy with Star Formation in its Nucleus

The optical spectrum of SDSS J022119.84 + 005628.4 (R. A. = 02h 21m 19.84s, Dec = 00°56' 28.4', J2000; z = 0.399785 ± 0.000558) is analyzed by multi-component profile modelling. The small flux ratio of [OⅢ]NC/Hβ (=0.78) and FWHM(HβBC) = 1778.1 ±85.9 km s-1 led us to identify SDSS J022119.84 + 005628.4 as a Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy with RFe= 1.4-1.0+1.0 and intermediate radio loudness, logR = 1.93. The continuum low jump at the Balmer limit might be contributed by a starburst component, which suggests that the object is a relatively young AGN with star-formation activity in its inner region. This provides a useful observational test of the AGN evolution. The low flux ratio of the narrow components, [OⅢ]/Hβ = 1.62, and the prominent [OⅡ]γ3727 emission, [OⅡ]/[OⅢ] = 2.24, suggests that there should be a group of AGNs different from Seyfert 2s when their broad line regions are obscured by the torus on the line of sight. A possible orientation effect is suggested to interpret the observed Seyfert 1.5s-like spectrum of the object. The spectrum features prominent broad blue wings of both [OⅢ]γγ4959 and 5007. After excluding other possible contributions, we conclude that the broad components are emitted by [O Ⅲ] itself. The material emitting the broad [O III] line is probably situated in a transient line region (with a low electron density, ne < 107cm-3) between the broad line region (BLR) and the narrow line region (NLR). The object can be classified as a 'blue outlier' defined by Zamanov et al., according to its velocity shift vr([OⅢ]) = -293.6 ± 18.0 km s-1, relative to the systematic velocity.

Growth of Black Holes and Their Host Spheroids in (Sub)mm-loud High-Redshift QSOs

We study the growth of black holes and stellar population in spheroids at high redshift using several （sub）mm-loud QSO samples. Applying the same criteria established in an earlier work, we find that, similar to IR QSOs at low redshift, the far-infrared emission of these （sub）mm-loud QSOs mainly originates from dust heated by starbursts. By combining low-z IR QSOs and high-z （sub）mm-loud QSOs, we find a trend that the star formation rate （M＊） increases with the accretion rate （Mace）. We compare the values of M＊/Macc for submm emitting galaxies （SMGs）, far-infrared ultraluminous/hypeduminous QSOs and typical QSOs, and construct a likely evolution scenario for these objects. The （sub）mm-loud QSO transition phase has both high Macc and M＊ and hence is important for establishing the correlation between the masses of black holes and spheroids.

Statistical Cluster-QSO Weak Lensing in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the cross-correlation between galaxy clusters and QSOs using Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS） DR4 - 5000 deg^2 data. With photometric redshifts of galaxies, we select galaxy clusters based on the local projected densities of LRGs brighter than Mr′ = -22. The QSOs are from the main sample of SDSS QSO spectroscopic survey to i′ = 19. A significant positive correlation is found between the clusters and QSOs. Under the assumption that the signal is caused by gravitational lensing, we fit the signal with singular isothermal sphere （SIS） model and NFW profile halo model. The velocity dispersion σv = 766 km s^-1 is derived for the best-fit of SIS model. Best-fit for the NFW model requires the dark matter halo mass within 1.5 h^-1 Mpc to be 4.6 × 10^14 h^-1 M⊙. The mass parameter Ωcl of the cluster sample is deduced as 0.077 with the SIS model and 0.083 with the NFW model. Our results of Ωcl are smaller than those given by Croom ＆ Shanks and by Myers et al.

The jet of FSRQ PKS 1229-02 and its misidentification as a γ-ray AGN

Flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1229-02 with a knotty and asymmetric radio morphology was identified as the optical and radio counterpart of a γ-ray source. In this paper, we study the properties(e.g.morphology, opacity, polarization and kinematics) of the jet in PKS 1229-02 using radio interferometry.With our results, we find that the knotty and asymmetric morphology of this source may probably shaped by the interaction between its anterograde jet and the nonuniform dense ambient medium. By reproducing a Spectral Energy Distribution of PKS 1229-02 with the obtained kinematic parameters, we find that the relativistic beaming effect in PKS 1229-02 is not strong enough to produce the reported γ-ray emission,i.e. PKS 1229-02 may not be a γ-ray AGN. The misidentification may probably be due to the poor spatial resolution of the γ-ray detector of the previous generation.

About 300 days Optical Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the Long-term Light Curves of the Blazar PKS 2155-304

Based on the long-term light curves collected from the Catalina Sky Survey(CSS)(from 2005 to 2013)and the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae(ASAS-SN)(from 2014 to 2018),optical quasi-periodic oscillations(QPOs)about 300 days can be well determined in the well-known blazar PKS 2155-304 through four different methods:the generalized Lomb-Scargle periodogram(GLSP)method,the weighted wavelet Z-transform technique,the epoch-folded method and the redfit method.The GLSP determined significance level for the periodicity is higher than 99.9999%based on a false alarm probability.The redfit provided confidence level for the periodicity is higher than 99%in the ASAS-SN light curve,after considering the effects of red noise.Based on continuous autoregressive process created artificial light curves,the probability of detecting fake QPOs is lower than 0.8%.The determined optical periodicity of 300 days from the CSS and ASAS-SN light curves is well consistent with the reported optical periodicity in the literature.Moreover,three possible models are discussed to explain the optical QPOs in PKS 2155-304:the relativistic frame-dragging effect,the binary black hole model and the jet precession model.

The Kiloparsec-scale Structure of 3C 286

We present radio images of the compact steep spectrum (CSS) quasar 3C 286 acquired with the Very Large Array (VLA) at 8.4 and 22.5 GHz. The source exhibits a two-sided core-jet structure with a bright central component and two extended components one to the east (P.A. 100°) and another to the southwest (P.A. - 116°). From the compact core, an extension runs towards the southwest component up to - 0.7 arcsecond. The emission between the primary central component and the southwest component exhibits a knotty structure. A gradual change of the jet position angles from -135° to -120° in the inner southwest jet suggests a local bend. The position angle changes of the major eastern components E2 and El suggest that the eastern jet likely follows a curved trace. The bends in the jet trace may be associated with a relativistic precession or some interaction between the jet and the ambient matter. A mean spectral index of a22.58.4- 0.76 (Xv Va) is estimated for the core component. Steep spectra are also obtained for the extended southwest component (2.6', P.A. -116°) and eastern component (0.8', P.A. 100°), with a22.58.4-0.88 and a22.58.4-1.79, respectively. The radio morphologies and spectral index distributions suggest that the core seen in our images is likely to be the beamed inner jet while the real nucleus is dimmed by it beaming away from us.