What controls the C IV line profile in active galactic nuclei?

Abstract

The high ionization lines in active galactic nuclei (AGN), such as C IV, tend to be blueshifted with respect to the lower ionization lines, such as H beta, and often show a strong blue excess asymmetry not seen in the low ionization lines. There is accumulating evidence that the H beta profile is dominated by gravity, and thus provides a useful estimate of the black hole mass in AGN. The shift and asymmetry commonly seen in C IV suggest that non gravitational effects, such as obscuration and radiation pressure, may affect the line profile. We explore the relation between the H beta and C IV profiles using UV spectra available for 81 of the 87 z < 0.5 PG quasars in the Boroson & Green (BG92) sample. We find the following: (1) Narrow C IV lines (FWHM < 2000 km/s) are rare (~2 per cent occurrence rate) compared to narrow H beta lines (~20 per cent). (2) In most objects where the H beta FWHM <4000 km/s the C IV line is broader than H beta, but the reverse is true when the H beta FWHM > 4000 km/s. This argues against the view that C IV generally originates closer to the center, compared to H beta. (3) C IV appears to provide a significantly less accurate, and possibly biased estimate of the black hole mass in AGN, compared with H beta. (4) All objects where C IV is strongly blueshifted and asymmetric have a high L/L_Edd, but the reverse is not true. This suggests that a high L/L_Edd is a necessary but not sufficient condition for generating a blueshifted asymmetric C IV emission. (5) We also find indications for dust reddening and scattering in `normal' AGN. In particular, PG quasars with a redder optical-UV continuum slope show weaker C IV emission, stronger C IV absorption, and a higher optical continuum polarization.