Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Wenwen Zuo

Publications and source records attributed to Wenwen Zuo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Rest-Frame Optical Spectroscopy of Ten z $\sim$ 2 Weak Emission-Line Quasars

We present near-infrared spectroscopy of ten weak emission-line quasars (WLQs) at redshifts of $z\sim2$, obtained with the Palomar 200-inch Hale Telescope. WLQs are an exceptional population of type 1 quasars that exhibit weak or no broad emission lines in the ultraviolet (e.g., the C IV $λ1549$ line), and they display remarkable X-ray properties. We derive H$β$-based single-epoch virial black-hole masses (median value $\rm 1.7 \times 10^{9} M_{\odot}$) and Eddington ratios (median value $0.5)$ for our sources. We confirm the previous finding that WLQ H$β$ lines, as a major low-ionization line, are not significantly weak compared to typical quasars. The most prominent feature of the WLQ optical spectra is the universally weak/absent [O III] $λ5007$ emission. They also display stronger optical Fe II emission than typical quasars. Our results favor the super-Eddington accretion scenario for WLQs, where the weak lines are a result of a soft ionizing continuum; the geometrically thick inner accretion disk and/or its associated outflow is responsible for obscuring the nuclear high-energy radiation and producing the soft ionizing continuum. We also report candidate extreme [O III] outflows (blueshifts of $\approx 500$ and $\rm 4900 km s^{-1}$) in one object.

astro-ph.GA↗

CIV emission line properties and uncertainties in black hole mass estimates of z ~ 3.5 quasars

Using a high luminosity ($L_{\rm bol} \sim 10^{47.5} - 10^{48.3}$ erg s$^{-1}$), high redshift ($3.2 < z < 3.8$) quasar sample of 19 quasars with optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, we investigate the reliability of the CIV-based black hole mass estimates ($M_{\rm BH}$). The median logarithm of the CIV- and H$β$-based $M_{\rm BH}$ ratios is 0.110 dex with the scatter of 0.647 dex. The CIV-to-H$β$ BH mass differences are significantly correlated with the CIV FWHMs, blueshifts and asymmetries. Corrections of the CIV FWHM using the blueshift and asymmetry reduce the scatter of the mass differences by $\sim$ 0.04-0.2 dex. Quasars in our sample accrete at the Eddington ratio $R_{\rm EDD}>0.3$ and cover a considerable range of blueshifts, with 18/19 of the quasars showing CIV blueshifts (with the median value of 1126 km s$^{-1}$) and 14/19 of the quasars showing CIV blueshifts larger than 500 km s$^{-1}$. It suggests that not all quasars with high Eddington ratios show large blueshifts. The Baldwin effect between the CIV rest-frame equivalent width (REW) and the continuum luminosity at 1350 $\overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}}$ is not seen, likely due to the limited luminosity range of our sample. We find a lack of flux in the red wing of the composite spectrum with larger CIV blueshift, and detect a higher ratio of [OIII] quasars with REW$_{\rm [OIII]}>5$ $\overset{\lower.5em\circ}{\mathrm{A}}$ in the subsample with lower CIV blueshift. It is more likely that they are caused by the combination of the Eddington ratio and the orientation effect.

astro-ph.GA↗

Spectroscopy of broad absorption line quasars at $3\lesssim z \lesssim 5$ -- I: evidence for quasar winds shaping broad/narrow emission line regions

We present an observational study of 22 broad absorption line quasars (BAL QSOs) at $3\lesssim z \lesssim5$ based on optical/near-IR spectroscopy, aiming to investigate quasar winds and their effects. The near-IR spectroscopy covers the \hb\ and/or \mgii\ broad emission lines (BELs) for these quasars, allowing us to estimate their central black hole (BH) masses in a robust way. We found that our BAL QSOs on average do not have a higher Eddington ratio than that from non-BAL QSOs matched in redshift and/or luminosity. In a subset consisting of seven strong BAL QSOs possessing sub-relativistic BAL outflows, we see the prevalence of large \civ-BEL blueshift ($\sim$3100 km s$^{-1}$) and weak \oiii\ emission (particularly the narrow \oiii$λ$5007 component), indicative of nuclear outflows affecting the narrow emission-line (NEL) regions. In another subset consisting of thirteen BAL QSOs having simultaneous observations of \mgii\ and \hb, we found a strong correlation between 3000~Å and 5000~Å monochromatic luminosity, consistent with that from non-BAL QSOs matched in redshift and luminosity; however, there is no correlation between \mgii\ and \hb\ in FWHM, likely due to nuclear outflows influencing the BEL regions. Our spectroscopic investigations offer strong evidence that the presence of nuclear outflows plays an important role in shaping the BEL/NEL regions of these quasars and possibly, regulating the growth of central supermassive black holes (SMBHs). We propose that BEL blueshift and BAL could be different manifestations of the same outflow system viewed at different sightlines and/or phases.

astro-ph.GA↗

The Evolution of Chemical Abundance in Quasar Broad Line Region

We study the relation between the metallicity of quasar broad line region (BLR) and black hole (BH) mass ($10^{7.5}M_{\odot} \sim 10^{10}M_{\odot}$) and quasar bolometric luminosity ($10^{44.6}erg/s \sim 10^{48} erg/s$) using a sample of $\sim$130,000 quasars at $2.25\leq z\leq 5.25$ from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12 (DR12). We generate composite spectra by stacking individual spectra in the same BH mass (bolometric luminosity) and redshift bins and then estimate the metallicity of quasar BLR using metallicity-sensitive broad emission-line flux ratios based on the photoionization models. We find a significant correlation between quasar BLR metallicity and BH mass (bolometric luminosity) but no correlation between quasar BLR metallicity and redshift. We also compare the metallicity of quasar BLR and that of host galaxies inferred from the mass-metallicity relation of star-forming galaxy at $z\sim2.3$ and $z\sim3.5$. We find quasar BLR metallicity is 0.3 $\sim$ 1.0 dex higher than their host galaxies. This discrepancy cannot be interpreted by the uncertainty due to different metallicity diagnostic methods, mass-metallicity relation of galaxy, metallicity gradient in quasar host galaxies, BH mass estimation, the effect of different spectral energy distribution (SED) models, and a few other potential sources of uncertainties. We propose a possibility that the high metallicity in quasar BLR might be caused by metal enrichment from massive star formation in the nucleus region of quasars or even the accretion disk.

astro-ph.GA↗

Discovery of strong Balmer line absorption in two luminous LoBAL quasars at z~1.5

We present the discovery of strong Balmer line absorption in H$α$ to H$γ$ in two luminous low-ionization broad absorption line quasars (LoBAL QSOs) at z~1.5, with black hole masses around $10^{10}$ $M_\odot$ from near-IR spectroscopy. There are only two previously known quasars at z>1 showing Balmer line absorption. SDSS J1019+0225 shows blueshifted absorption by ~1400 km/s with an H$α$ rest-frame equivalent width of 13 Å. In SDSS J0859+4239 we find redshifted absorption by ~500 km/s with an H$α$ rest-frame equivalent width of 7 Å. The redshifted absorption could indicate an inflow of high density gas onto the black hole, though we cannot rule out alternative interpretations. The Balmer line absorption in both objects appears to be saturated, indicating partial coverage of the background source by the absorber. We estimate the covering fractions and optical depth of the absorber and derive neutral hydrogen column densities, $N_{\rm{H\,I}}\sim1.3\times 10^{18}$ cm$^{-2}$ for SDSS J1019+0225 and $N_{\rm{H\,I}}\sim9\times 10^{17}$ cm$^{-2}$ for SDSS J0859+4239, respectively. In addition, the optical spectra reveal also absorption troughs in HeI* $\lambda3889$ and $\lambda3189$ in both objects.

astro-ph.GA↗

Quasar Photometric Redshifts and Candidate Selection: A New Algorithm Based on Optical and Mid-Infrared Photometric Data

We present a new algorithm to estimate quasar photometric redshifts (photo-$z$s), by considering the asymmetries in the relative flux distributions of quasars. The relative flux models are built with multivariate Skew-t distributions in the multi-dimensional space of relative fluxes as a function of redshift and magnitude. For 151,392 quasars in the SDSS, we achieve a photo-$z$ accuracy, defined as the fraction of quasars with the difference between the photo-$z$ $z_p$ and the spectroscopic redshift $z_s$, $|Δz| = |z_s-z_p|/(1+z_s)$ within 0.1, of 74%. Combining the WISE W1 and W2 infrared data with the SDSS data, the photo-$z$ accuracy is enhanced to 87%. Using the Pan-STARRS1 or DECaLS photometry with WISE W1 and W2 data, the photo-$z$ accuracies are 79% and 72%, respectively. The prior probabilities as a function of magnitude for quasars, stars and galaxies are calculated respectively based on (1) the quasar luminosity function; (2) the Milky Way synthetic simulation with the Besançon model; (3) the Bayesian Galaxy Photometric Redshift estimation. The relative fluxes of stars are obtained with the Padova isochrones, and the relative fluxes of galaxies are modeled through galaxy templates. We test our classification method to select quasars using the DECaLS $g$, $r$, $z$, and WISE W1 and W2 photometry. The quasar selection completeness is higher than 70% for a wide redshift range $0.5<z<4.5$, and a wide magnitude range $18<r<21.5$ mag. Our photo-$z$ regression and classification method has the potential to extend to future surveys. The photo-$z$ code will be publicly available.

astro-ph.GA↗

Near-IR spectroscopy of luminous LoBAL quasars at 1<z<2.5

We present near-IR spectroscopy of 22 luminous low-ionization broad absorption line quasars (LoBAL QSOs) at redshift 1.3 1 there is no clear difference in their optical emission line properties. We do not see particularly weak [OIII] or strong FeII emission. The LoBAL QSOs do not show a stronger prevalence of ionized gas outflows as traced by the [OIII] line, compared to normal QSOs of similar luminosity. We conclude that the optical-MIR properties of LoBAL QSOs are consistent with the general quasar population and do not support them to constitute a special phase of active galactic nucleus evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

The physical constraints on a new LoBAL QSO at z=4.82

Very few low-ionization broad absorption line (LoBAL) QSOs have been found at high redshifts to date. One high-redshift LoBAL QSO, J0122+1216, was recently discovered at the Lijiang 2.4-m Telescope with an initial redshift determination of 4.76. Aiming to investigate its physical properties, we carried out follow-up observations in the optical and near-IR spectroscopy. Near-IR spectra from UKIRT and P200 confirms that it is a LoBAL, with a new redshift determination of $4.82\pm0.01$ based on the \mgii~ emission-line. The new \mgii~ redshift determination reveals strong blueshifts and asymmetry of the high-ionization emission lines. We estimated a black hole mass of $\sim 2.3\times 10^9 M_\odot$ and Eddington ratio of $\sim 1.0$ according to the empirical \mgii-based single-epoch relation and bolometric correction factor. It is possible that strong outflows are the result of an extreme quasar environment driven by the high Eddington ratio. A lower limit on the outflowing kinetic power ($>0.9\% L_{Edd}$) was derived from both emission and absorption lines, indicating these outflows play a significant role in the feedback process to regulate the growth of its black hole as well as host galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.GA↗

A survey of luminous high-redshift quasars with SDSS and WISE II. the bright end of the quasar luminosity function at z ~ 5

This is the second paper in a series on a new luminous z ~ 5 quasar survey using optical and near-infrared colors. Here we present a new determination of the bright end of the quasar luminosity function (QLF) at z ~ 5. Combined our 45 new quasars with previously known quasars that satisfy our selections, we construct the largest uniform luminous z ~ 5 quasar sample to date, with 99 quasars in the range 4.7 <= z < 5.4 and -29 < M1450 <= -26.8, within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint. We use a modified 1/Va method including flux limit correction to derive a binned QLF, and we model the parametric QLF using maximum likelihood estimation. With the faint-end slope of the QLF fixed as alpha = -2.03 from previous deeper samples, the best fit of our QLF gives a flatter bright end slope beta = -3.58+/-0.24 and a fainter break magnitude M*1450 = -26.98+/-0.23 than previous studies at similar redshift. Combined with previous work at lower and higher redshifts, our result is consistent with a luminosity evolution and density evolution (LEDE) model. Using the best fit QLF, the contribution of quasars to the ionizing background at z ~ 5 is found to be 18% - 45% with a clumping factor C of 2 - 5. Our sample suggests an evolution of radio loud fraction with optical luminosity but no obvious evolution with redshift.

astro-ph.GA↗

A survey of luminous high-redshift quasars with SDSS and WISE. I. target selection and optical spectroscopy

High-redshift quasars are important tracers of structure and evolution in the early universe. However, they are very rare and difficult to find when using color selection because of contamination from late-type dwarfs. High-redshift quasar surveys based on only optical colors suffer from incompleteness and low identification efficiency, especially at $z\gtrsim4.5$. We have developed a new method to select $4.7\lesssim z \lesssim 5.4$ quasars with both high efficiency and completeness by combining optical and mid-IR Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) photometric data, and are conducting a luminous $z\sim5$ quasar survey in the whole Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint. We have spectroscopically observed 99 out of 110 candidates with $z$-band magnitudes brighter than 19.5 and 64 (64.6\%) of them are quasars with redshifts of $4.4\lesssim z \lesssim 5.5$ and absolute magnitudes of $-29\lesssim M_{1450} \lesssim -26.4$. In addition, we also observed 14 fainter candidates selected with the same criteria and identified 8 (57.1\%) of them as quasars with $4.7 4.5$, which will set strong constraints on the bright end of the quasar luminosity function. We also expand our method to select quasars at $z\gtrsim5.7$. In this paper we report the discovery of four new luminous $z\gtrsim5.7$ quasars based on SDSS-WISE selection.

astro-ph.GA↗

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope Quasar Survey: Quasar Properties from First Data Release

We present preliminary results of the quasar survey in Large Sky Area Multi- Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) first data release (DR1), which includes pilot survey and the first year regular survey. There are 3921 quasars identified with reliability, among which 1180 are new quasars discovered in the survey. These quasars are at low to median redshifts, with highest z of 4.83. We compile emission line measurements around the Hα, Hβ, Mg II, and C IV regions for the new quasars. The continuum luminosities are inferred from SDSS photo- metric data with model fitting as the spectra in DR1 are non-flux-calibrated. We also compile the virial black hole mass estimates, and flags indicating the selec- tion methods, broad absorption line quasars. The catalog and spectra for these quasars are available online. 28% of the 3921 quasars are selected with optical- infrared colours independently, indicating that the method is quite promising in completeness of quasar survey. LAMOST DR1 and the on-going quasar survey will provide valuable data in the studies of quasars.

astro-ph.GA↗

An ultra-luminous quasar at z=5.363 with a ten billion solar mass black hole and a Metal-Rich DLA at z~5

We report the discovery of an ultra-luminous quasar J030642.51+185315.8 (hereafter J0306+1853) at redshift 5.363, which hosts a super-massive black hole (SMBH) with $M_{BH} = (1.07 \pm 0.27) \times10^{10}~M_\odot$. With an absolute magnitude $M_{1450}=-28.92$ and bolometric luminosity $L_{bol}\sim3.4\times10^{14} L_{\odot}$, J0306+1853 is one of the most luminous objects in the early Universe. It is not likely to be a beamed source based on its small flux variability, low radio loudness and normal broad emission lines. In addition, a $z=4.986$ Damped Ly$α$ system (DLA) with $\rm [M/H]=-1.3\pm0.1$, among the most metal rich DLAs at $z \gtrsim 5$, is detected in the absorption spectrum of this quasar. This ultra-luminous quasar puts strong constraint on the bright-end of quasar luminosity function and massive-end of black hole mass function. It will provide a unique laboratory to the study of BH growth and the co-evolution between BH and host galaxy with multi-wavelength follow-up observations. The future high resolution spectra will give more insights to the DLA and other absorption systems along the line-of-sight of J0306+1853.

astro-ph.GA↗

An ultra-luminous quasar with a twelve-billion-solar-mass black hole at redshift 6.30

So far, roughly 40 quasars with redshifts greater than z=6 have been discovered. Each quasar contains a black hole with a mass of about one billion solar masses ($10^9 M_\odot$). The existence of such black holes when the Universe was less than 1 billion years old presents substantial challenges to theories of the formation and growth of black holes and the coevolution of black holes and galaxies. Here we report the discovery of an ultra-luminous quasar, SDSS J010013.02+280225.8, at redshift z=6.30. It has an optical and near-infrared luminosity a few times greater than those of previously known z>6 quasars. On the basis of the deep absorption trough on the blue side of the Ly $α$ emission line in the spectrum, we estimate the proper size of the ionized proximity zone associated with the quasar to be 26 million light years, larger than found with other z>6.1 quasars with lower luminosities. We estimate (on the basis of a near-infrared spectrum) that the black hole has a mass of $\sim 1.2 \times 10^{10} M_\odot$, which is consistent with the $1.3 \times 10^{10} M_\odot$ derived by assuming an Eddington-limited accretion rate.

astro-ph.GA↗

Unshifted Metastable He I* Mini-Broad Absorption Line System in the Narrow Line Type 1 Quasar SDSS J080248.18$+$551328.9

We report the identification of an unusual absorption line system in the quasar SDSS J080248.18$+$551328.9 and present a detailed study of the system, incorporating follow-up optical and NIR spectroscopy. A few tens of absorption lines are detected, including He I*, Fe II* and Ni II* that arise from metastable or excited levels, as well as resonant lines in Mg I, Mg II, Fe II, Mn II, and Ca II. All of the isolated absorption lines show the same profile of width $Δv\sim 1,500$km s$^{-1}$ centered at a common redshift as that of the quasar emission lines, such as [O II], [S II], and hydrogen Paschen and Balmer series. With narrow Balmer lines, strong optical Fe II multiplets, and weak [O III] doublets, its emission line spectrum is typical for that of a narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLS1). We have derived reliable measurements of the gas-phase column densities of the absorbing ions/levels. Photoionization modeling indicates that the absorber has a density of $n_{\rm H} \sim (1.0-2.5)\times 10^5~ {\rm cm}^{-3}$ and a column density of $N_{\rm H} \sim (1.0-3.2)\times 10^{21} \sim {\rm cm}^{-2}$, and is located at $R\sim100-250$ pc from the central super-massive black hole. The location of the absorber, the symmetric profile of the absorption lines, and the coincidence of the absorption and emission line centroid jointly suggest that the absorption gas is originated from the host galaxy and is plausibly accelerated by stellar processes, such as stellar winds \zhy{and/or} supernova explosions. The implications for the detection of such a peculiar absorption line system in an NLS1 are discussed in the context of co-evolution between super-massive black hole growth and host galaxy build-up.

astro-ph.GA↗

Black Hole Mass Estimates and Rapid Growth of Supermassive Black Holes in Luminous $z \sim$ 3.5 Quasars

We present new near-infrared (IR) observations of the H$β \lambda4861$ and MgII $\lambda2798$ lines for 32 luminous quasars with $3.2<z<3.9$ using the Palomar Hale 200 inch telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope. We find that the MgII Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) is well correlated with the H$β$ FWHM, confirming itself as a good substitute for the H$β$ FWHM in the black hole mass estimates. The continuum luminosity at 5100 Å well correlates with the continuum luminosity at 3000 Å and the broad emission line luminosities (H$β$ and MgII). With simultaneous near-IR spectroscopy of the H$β$ and MgII lines to exclude the influences of flux variability, we are able to evaluate the reliability of estimating black hole masses based on the MgII line for high redshift quasars. With the reliable H$β$ line based black hole mass and Eddington ratio estimates, we find that the $z\sim3.5$ quasars in our sample have black hole masses $1.90\times10^{9} M_{\odot} \lesssim M_{\rm BH} \lesssim 1.37\times10^{10} M_{\odot}$, with a median of $\sim 5.14\times10^{9} M_{\odot}$ and are accreting at Eddington ratios between 0.30 and 3.05, with a median of $\sim1.12$. Assuming a duty cycle of 1 and a seed black hole mass of $10^{4} M_{\odot}$, we show that the $z\sim3.5$ quasars in this sample can grow to their estimated black hole masses within the age of the Universe at their redshifts.

astro-ph.HE↗

SDSS J013127.34$-$032100.1: A newly discovered radio-loud quasar at $z=5.18$ with extremely high luminosity

Only very few z>5 quasars discovered to date are radio-loud, with a radio-to-optical flux ratio (radio-loudness parameter) higher than 10. Here we report the discovery of an optically luminous radio-loud quasar, SDSS J013127.34-032100.1 (J0131-0321 in short), at z=5.18+-0.01 using the Lijiang 2.4m and Magellan telescopes. J0131-0321 has a spectral energy distribution consistent with that of radio-loud quasars. With an i-band magnitude of 18.47 and radio flux density of 33 mJy, its radio-loudness parameter is ~100. The optical and near-infrared spectra taken by Magellan enable us to estimate its bolometric luminosity to be L_bol ~ 1.1E48 erg/s, approximately 4.5 times greater than that of the most distant quasar known to date. The black hole mass of J0131-0321 is estimated to be 2.7E9 solar masses, with an uncertainty up to 0.4 dex. Detailed physical properties of this high-redshift, radio-loud, potentially super-Eddington quasar can be probed in the future with more dedicated and intensive follow-up observations using multi-wavelength facilities.

astro-ph.GA↗

Discovering bright quasars at intermediate redshifts based on the optical/near-IR colors

Identifications of quasars at intermediate redshifts (2.2<z<3.5) are inefficient in most previous quasar surveys as their optical colors are similar to those of stars. The near-IR K-band excess technique has been suggested to overcome this difficulty. Our study also proposed to use optical/near-IR colors for selecting z<4 quasars. To this method, we selected 105 unidentified bright targets with i<18.5 from the quasar candidates of SDSS DR6 with both SDSS ugriz optical and UKIDSS YJHK near-IR photometric data, which satisfy our proposed Y-K/g-z criterion and have photometric redshifts between 2.2 and 3.5 estimated from the 9-band SDSS-UKIDSS data. 43 of them were observed with the 2.16m telescope of NAOC in 2012. 36 of them were identified as quasars at 2.1<z<3.4. High success rate of discovering these quasars in the SDSS spectroscopic surveyed area demonstrates the robustness of both the Y-K/g-z selection criterion and the photometric redshift estimation technique. We also used the above criterion to investigate the possible star contamination rate to the quasar candidates of SDSS DR6, and found that it is much higher in selecting 3<z<3.5 quasar candidates than selecting lower redshift ones (z<2.2). The significant improvement in the photometric redshift estimation by using the 9-band SDSS-UKIDSS data than using the 5-band SDSS data is demonstrated and a catalog of 7,727 unidentified quasar candidates with photometric redshifts between 2.2 and 3.5 is provided. We also tested the Y-K/g-z selection criterion with the SDSS-III/DR9 quasar catalog, and found 96.2% of 17,999 DR9 quasars with UKIDSS Y and K-band data satisfy our criterion. With some samples of red and type II quasars, we found that 88% and 96.5% of them can be selected by the Y-K/g-z criterion respectively, which supports that using the Y-K/g-z criterion we can efficiently select both unobscured and obscured quasars. (abridged)

astro-ph.CO↗

The correlations between optical variability and physical parameters of quasars in SDSS Stripe 82

We investigate the optical variability of 7658 quasars from SDSS Stripe 82. Taking advantage of a larger sample and relatively more data points for each quasar, we estimate variability amplitudes and divide the sample into small bins of redshift, rest-frame wavelength, black hole mass, Eddington ratio and bolometric luminosity respectively, to investigate the relationships between variability and these parameters. An anti-correlation between variability and rest-frame wavelength is found. The variability amplitude of radio-quiet quasars shows almost no cosmological evolution, but that of radio-loud ones may weakly anti-correlate with redshift. In addition, variability increases as either luminosity or Eddington ratio decreases. However, the relationship between variability and black hole mass is uncertain; it is negative when the influence of Eddington ratio is excluded, but positive when the influence of luminosity is excluded. The intrinsic distribution of variability amplitudes for radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars are different. Both radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars exhibit a bluer-when-brighter chromatism. Assuming that quasar variability is caused by variations of accretion rate, the Shakura-Sunyaev disk model can reproduce the tendencies of observed correlations between variability and rest-frame wavelength, luminosity as well as Eddington ratio, supporting that changes of accretion rate plays an important role in producing the observed optical variability. However, the predicted positive correlation between variability and black hole mass seems to be inconsistent with the observed negative correlation between them in small bins of Eddington ratio, which suggests that other physical mechanisms may still need to be considered in modifying the simple accretion disk model.

astro-ph.HE↗