arXiv subjects

Zhi-Fu Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Zhi-Fu Chen.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Revealing the Physical Driver of the Baldwin Effect: Gas Density in the Broad-Line Region

The Baldwin effect --- the inverse correlation between the equivalent width of emission lines and the continuum luminosity in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) --- has been known for nearly five decades, yet its physical origin remains poorly understood. Using a sample of 41,159 radio quasars constructed from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Low-Frequency Array Two-metre Sky Survey, we investigate the origin and underlying physics of the Baldwin effect of MgII broad emission lines in both radio-quiet (RQ) and radio-loud (RL) quasars. We find that the slope $\beta$ of the Baldwin effect is positively correlated with the Eddington ratio $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$ in both populations, and RL quasars exhibit steeper $\beta$ than their RQ quasars at fixed $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$. Photoionization simulations reveal that the $\beta$ is primarily governed by the gas density in the broad-line region (BLR): lower gas densities yield steeper slopes. This density-driven mechanism naturally connects the Baldwin effect to the broader AGN evolutionary context. Specifically, higher $\lambda_{\rm Edd}$ drive stronger accretion disk winds, leading to denser BLRs and shallower $\beta$. Our findings indicate that BLR gas density serves as the primary physical driver underlying the "global" Baldwin effect, offering a physically grounded framework for interpreting AGN accretion states and their coupled evolution with host galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

The infrared traced star formation rates of associated absorption lines quasars

Some optically selected quasars exhibit Mg II assoicated absorption lines (AALs), and its origin remains unclear. In this paper, we compile a sample of 1769 quasars, with or without Mg II AALs. Of which 1689 are Far-Infrared (FIR) detected quasars and the rest are not detected in FIR. For the FIR undetected quasars, we obtain stacks for both with and without Mg II AAL quasars. Then we estimate the star formation rates (SFRs) within quasar host galaxies based on their FIR luminosities derived from their FIR greybody components, and find that, although quasars with Mg II AALs have significantly redder median composite spectra than those without Mg II AALs, the SFR distributions of the two types of quasars are statistically indistinguishable. These results do not require an evolutionary link between the quasars with and without Mg II AALs, and would be reconciled if an orientation effect cannot be ignored among the quasars hosting different types of absorption lines.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

The Study of Circumgalactic Medium with Quasar Pairs

We have collected 10025 foreground-background quasar pairs with projected distances $d_p<500$ kpc from the large quasar catalog of the SDSS DR16Q. We investigate the properties of the Mg II absorption lines with $W_r>0.15$ Å around foreground quasars, including both the LOS (line-of-sights of foreground quasars) and transverse (TRA, perpendicular to the LOS) absorptions. Both the equivalent width (the correlation coefficient $ρ=-0.915$ and the probability $P < 10^{-4}$ of no correlation) and incident rate ($ρ=-0.964$ and $P < 10^{-6}$) of TRA \Mgii\ absorption lines are obviously anti-correlated with projected distance. The incident rate of TRA \Mgii\ absorption lines is obviously ($>4σ$) greater than that of LOS \Mgii\ absorption lines at projected distances $d_p<200$ kpc, while the TRA and LOS \Mgii\ both have similar ($<3σ$) incident rates at scales $d_p>200$ kpc. The anisotropic radiation from quasars would be the most possible interpretation for the anisotropic absorption around quasars. This could also indicate that the quasar radiation is not obviously impacting the gas halos of quasars at scales $d_p>200$ kpc.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

The detections of inflowing gas from narrow absorption lines at the parsec scale

Inflows at the dusty torus and smaller scales is crucial to investigate the process of supermassive black hole accretion. However, only few cases of inflowing gas at small scales have been reported through redshifted broad absorption lines so far. Here we report 9 redshifted narrow absorption lines (NALs) of $\rm Mg^+$ ions with inflowing speeds of 1071 -- 1979 km/s, which are likely along the directions close to the axes of accretion disks. The quasars showing inflowing Mg II NALs have on average slightly smaller Eddington ratios when compared to the sources with outflow Mg II NALs. The upper limits of locations of the detected NALs are at parsec scale, around the distances of dusty tori to central SMBHs. The one possible origin of these infalling NALs is from dusty tori. Of course, these infalling NALs can also be naturally explained by chaotic cold accretion resulted from the nonlinear interaction of active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets with the interstellar medium, and these cold gaseous blobs may originally precipitate in metal-rich trailing outflows uplifted by AGN jet ejecta. The infalling NALs may thus provide direct evidence for cold gas precipitation and accretion in AGN feedback processes, and provide the direct evidence of inflowing gas along the directions close to quasar jets and at parsec scale. It does not matter whether these infalling NALs are from the dusty tori or the interaction of AGN jets with the ISM, the infalling NALs cannot provide sufficient fuels to power the quasars.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

The correlated variations of C IV narrow absorption lines and quasar continuum

We assemble 207 variable quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, all with at least 3 observations, to analyze C IV narrow absorption doublets, and obtain 328 C IV narrow absorption line systems. We find that 19 out of 328 C IV narrow absorption line systems were changed by $\midΔW_r^{\lambda1548}\mid\ge3σ_{ΔW_r^{\lambda1548}}$ on timescales from 15.9 to 1477 days at rest-frame. Among the 19 obviously variable C IV systems, we find that (1) 14 systems have relative velocities $\upsilon_r>0.01c$ and 4 systems have $\upsilon_r>0.1c$, where $c$ is the speed of light; (2) 13 systems are accompanied by other variable C IV systems; (3) 9 systems were changed continuously during multiple observations; and (4) 1 system with $\upsilon_{\rm r}=16~862$ km/s was enhanced by $ΔW_r^{\lambda1548}=2.7σ_{ΔW_r^{\lambda1548}}$ in 0.67 day at rest-frame. The variations of absorption lines are inversely correlated with the changes in the ionizing continuum. We also find that large variations of C IV narrow absorption lines are difficult to form on a short timescale.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Narrow absorption lines with two observations of Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We assemble 3524 quasars from Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with repeated observations to search for variations of narrow C IV1548,1551 and Mg II2796,2803 absorption doublets in spectral regions shortward of 7000 Ang at the observed frame, which corresponds to time-scales of about 150 ~ 2643 days at quasar rest frame. In these quasar spectra, we detect 3580 C IV absorption systems with z_{abs} = 1.5188 ~ 3.5212, and 1809 Mg II absorption systems with z_{abs} = 0.3948 ~ 1.7167. In term of the absorber velocity (beta) distribution at quasar rest frame, we find a substantial number of C IV absorbers with beta<0.06, which might be connected to the absorptions of quasar outflows. The outflow absorptions peak at v~2000 km/s and drop rapidly below the peak value. Among 3580 C IV absorption systems, 52 systems (~ 1.5%) show obvious variations in equivalent widths at the absorber rest frame (Wr): 16 enhanced, 16 emerged, 12 weaken, and 8 disappeared systems, respectively. We find that changes in Wr548 are neither related to time-scales of the two SDSS observations, nor to absorber velocities at the quasar rest frame. Variable absorptions in low-ionization species are important to constraint the physical conditions of absorbing gas. There are two variable Mg II absorption systems measured from SDSS spectra detected by Hacker et al. However, in our Mg II$ absorption sample, we find that neither shows variable absorption with confident levels of >4sigma for lambda2796 lines and >3sigma for lambda2803 lines.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

Catalog of narrow C IV absorption lines in BOSS (II): for quasars with zem > 2.4

As the second work in a series of papers aiming to detect absorption systems in the quasar spectra of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, we continue the analysis of Paper I by expanding the quasar sample to those quasars with zem>2.4. This yields a sample of 21,963 appropriate quasars to search for narrow C IV absorptions with Wr>=0.2A for both lines. There are 9708 quasars with at least one appropriate absorption system imprinted on their spectra. From these spectra, we detect 13,919 narrow Civabsorption systems whose absorption redshifts cover a range of zabs=1.8784 - 4.3704. In this paper and Paper 1, we have selected 37,241 appropriate quasars with median SNR>= 4 and 1.54<= zem <=5.16 to visually analyze narrow C IV absorption doublets one by one. A total of 15,999 quasars are found to have at least one appropriate absorption system imprinted on their spectra. From these 15,999 quasar spectra, we have detected 23,336 appropriate C IV absorption systems with Wr>=0.2A whose absorption redshifts cover a range of zabs=1.4544 - 4.3704. The largest values of Wr are 3.19 A for the \lambda1548 absorption line and 2.93 A for the lambda1551 absorption line, respectively. We find that only a few absorbers show large values of Wr. About 1.1% absorbers of the total absorbers have Wr>=2.0 A.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Catalog of narrow $C~IV$ absorption lines in BOSS (I): for quasars with $z_{em} \leq 2.4$

We have assembled absorption systems by visually identifying $C~IVλ\lambda1548,1551$ absorption doublets in the quasar spectra of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) one by one. This paper is the first of the series work. In this paper, we concern quasars with relatively low redshifts and high signal-to-noise ratios for their spectra, and hence we limit our analysis on quasars with $z_{em}\le2.4$ and on the doublets with $W_r\lambda1548\ge0.2$ Å. Out of the more than 87,000 quasars in the Data Release 9, we limit our search to 10,121 quasars that have the appropriate redshifts and spectra with high enough signal-to-noise ratios to identify narrow C IV absorption lines. Among them, 5,442 quasars are detected to have at least one $C~IVλ\lambda1548,1551$ absorption doublet. We obtain a catalog containing 8,368 $C~IVλ\lambda1548,1551$ absorption systems, whose redshifts are within $z_{abs}=1.4544$ - $2.2805$. In this catalog, about $33.7\%$ absorbers have $0.2$ Å$\le W_r\lambda1548<0.5$ Å, about $45.9\%$ absorbers have $0.5$ Å$\le W_r\lambda1548<1.0$ Å, about $19.2\%$ absorbers have $1.0$ Å$\le W_r\lambda1548<2.0$ Å, and about $1.2\%$ absorbers have $W_r\lambda1548\ge2.0$ Å.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Roles of the kinetic and dynamic mechanisms in the $L_p - E_p$ relation

The $L_p - E_p$ relation is a well-known relation in gamma-ray bursts. Its implication remains unclear. We propose to investigate the underlying mechanisms of this relation by considering the corresponding kinetic and dynamic mechanisms separately. In this way, one can tell how much the kinetic or dynamic mechanism contributes to the index of the relationship. Our analysis gives rise to several conclusions. (1) The index of the kinetic effect in the $L_p - E_p$ relation can simply be derived from the theory of special relativity, which is generally larger than 2, depending on the situation concerned. (2) The index of the dynamic effect in the relation can be deduced from observation once a model of jets is adopted. According to current GRB data, we find: the dynamic effect alone tends to make an anti-correlation between $L_p$ and $E_p$; in terms of statistics, the dynamic effect is obviously smaller than the kinetic effect; in the situation of jets with moving discrete radio clouds which moves directly towards the observer, the index of the dynamic effect is currently constrained within $(-1.6, -1)$, while in other situations of jets, the constrains are different; both internal and external shocks can account for the current data.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

The disappearance of a narrow Mg II absorption system in quasar SDSS J165501.31+260517.4

In this letter, we present for the first time, the discovery of the disappearance of a narrow Mg II $λ\lambda2796,2803$ absorption system from the spectra of quasar SDSS J165501.31+260517.4 ($z_{\rm e}=1.8671$). This absorber is located at $z_{\rm abs} =1.7877$, and has a velocity offset of $8,423\rm ~km~s^{-1}$ with respect to the quasar. According to the velocity offset and the line variability, this narrow Mg II $λ\lambda2796,2803$ absorption system is likely intrinsic to the quasar. Since the corresponding UV continuum emission and the absorption lines of another narrow Mg II $λ\lambda2796,2803$ absorption system at $z_{\rm abs}=1.8656$ are very stable, we think that the disappearance of the absorption system is unlikely to be caused by the change in ionization of absorption gas. Instead, it likely arises from the motion of the absorption gas across the line of sight.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Statistical classification of gamma-ray bursts based on the Amati relation

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are believed to belong to two classes and they are conventionally divided according to their durations. This classification scheme is not satisfied due to the fact that duration distributions of the two classes are heavily overlapped. We collect a new sample (153 sources) of GRBs and investigate the distribution of the logarithmic deviation of the $E_p$ value from the Amati relation. The distribution possesses an obvious bimodality structure and it can be accounted for by the combination of two Gaussian curves. Based on this analysis, we propose to statistically classify GRBs in the well-known $E_{p}$ vs. $E_{iso}$ plane with the logarithmic deviation of the $E_p$ value. This classification scheme divides GRBs into two groups: Amati type bursts and non-Amati type bursts. While Amati type bursts well follow the Amati relation, non-Amati type bursts do not. It shows that most Amati type bursts are long duration bursts and the majority of non-Amati type bursts are short duration bursts. In addition, it reveals that Amati type bursts are generally more energetic than non-Amati type bursts. An advantage of the new classification is that the two kinds of burst are well distinguishable and therefore their members can be identified in certainty.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2013

Disappearance of a narrow Mg II absorption system with a measured velocity up to $\rm 166,000 km s^{-1}$

Quasar J152645.61+193006.7 ($z_{\rm e}=2.5771$) was observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) on 2006 May 31, and again on 2011 April 9. The time interval of the SDSS two observations is 497.4 days at the quasar rest frame. From the spectra of this quasar, we detect a phenomenon of disappearance of a narrow $\rm Mg II λ\lambda2796,2803$ absorption system with a velocity up to $\rm 166,129 km s^{-1}$ with respect to the quasar. This disappearance event can be caused by changes in the ionization state of absorbing gas or by the bulk motion of the absorbing gas across the quasar sightline. The coverage fraction analysis shows that this absorber partially covers the background emission sources with an effective coverage fraction of $C_{\rm f}=0.40\pm0.06$. The time variation analysis and the coverage fraction analysis imply that this absorber might be intrinsic to the quasar. However, the scenario of a cosmologically separated foreground object located at $z=0.9170$ accounting for the phenomenon cannot be ruled out according to current available data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Emergences of C IV narrow absorption troughs in the quasar SDSS J095254.10+021932.8

In this paper, we report on two C IV narrow absorption systems emerging from the spectrum of the quasar SDSS J095254.10 +021932.8, which are located at $z_{\rm abs}=2.0053$ and $z_{\rm abs}=1.8011$, respectively. These features have velocity offsets of $\rm \sim 13,800$ and $\rm \sim 34,700~km~s^{-1}$ with respect to the quasar, and show obviously partial coverage to the background emission sources. The two C IV absorption systems are imprinted on the spectrum obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) III on 2011 March 25, which cannot be observed from the spectrum obtained by SDSS-I/II on 2000 December 30. The time interval of the two SDSS observations is 1186.4 d at the quasar rest frame. Because the continuum radiation, broad emission lines and mass accretion rate are stable for the two observations, together with the time interval of observations, we believe that the observed spectral variations are less likely to be caused by the changes in the ionization states of the absorbing gas or by a new outflow, arising from the situation where there was previously no outflow at all. Instead, they probably arise from the motions of multiple streaming gas across the sightline of the quasar.

astro-ph.CO↗