A quasar main sequence is widely believed to reveal itself through objects represented in a plane spanned by two parameters: the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of H$β$, and the ratio of Fe II to H$β$ equivalent width. This sequence is related to the application to quasar properties of principal component analysis (PCA), which reveals that the main axis of variance (Eigenvector 1) is co-directional with a strong anti-correlation between these two measurements. We aim to determine whether the dominance of two Eigenvectors, originally discovered over two decades ago, is replicated in newer high-quality quasar samples. If so, we aim to test if a non-linear approach is an improvement on the linear PCA method by finding two new parameters which represent a more accurate projection of the variances than the Eigenvectors recovered from PCA. We selected quasars from the XSHOOTER archive and a major quasar catalog to build high quality samples. These samples were tested with PCA. We find that the new high-quality samples do indeed have two dominant Eigenvectors as originally discovered. Subsequently we find that the fitting of a non-linear decay curve to the main sequence allows a new plane spanned by linearly independent axes to be defined, based on the distance along the decay curve as the main axis and the distance of each quasar datapoint from the curve as the secondary axis respectively. The results show that it is possible to define a new plane based on the quasar main sequence which accounts for the majority of the variance. The most likely candidate for the new main axis is an anti-correlation with black hole mass. In this case the secondary axis likely represents luminosity. However, given the results of previous studies, inclination angle likely plays a role in H$β$ width.
The last few years have seen the confirmation of several trends associated with the quasar main sequence. The idea of a main sequence for quasars is relatively recent, and its full potential for the observational classification and contextualization of quasar properties has yet to be fully exploited. The main sequence drivers are discussed in terms of the properties of extreme objects. We briefly summarize developments that constrain the viewing angle of the accretion disk in a particular class of quasars (extreme Population B, radiating at low Eddington ratio), as well as inferences on the ch…
The relation between star formation rates and stellar masses, i.e. the galaxy main sequence, is a useful diagnostic of galaxy evolution. We present the distributions relative to the main sequence of 55 optically-selected PG and 12 near-IR-selected 2MASS quasars at z <= 0.5. We estimate the quasar host stellar masses from Hubble Space Telescope or ground-based AO photometry, and the star formation rates through the mid-infrared aromatic features and far-IR photometry. We find that PG quasar hosts more or less follow the main sequence defined by normal star-forming galaxies while 2MASS quasar ho…
The diverse properties of broad-line quasars appear to follow a well-defined main sequence along which the optical FeII strength increases. It has been suggested that this sequence is mainly driven by the Eddington ratio (L/L_Edd) of the black hole (BH) accretion. Shen & Ho demonstrated with quasar clustering analysis that the average BH mass decreases with increasing FeII strength when quasar luminosity is fixed, consistent with this suggestion. Here we perform an independent test by measuring the stellar velocity dispersion sigma* (hence the BH mass via the M-sigma* relation) from decomposed…
The last 25 years saw a major step forward in the analysis of optical and UV spectroscopic data of large quasar samples. Multivariate statistical approaches have led to the definition of systematic trends in observational properties that are the basis of physical and dynamical modeling of quasar structure. We discuss the empirical correlates of the so-called "main sequence" associated with the quasar Eigenvector 1, its governing physical parameters and several implications on our view of the quasar structure, as well as some luminosity effects associated with the virialized component of the li…
We analyze the optical properties of Radio-Loud quasars along the Main Sequence (MS) of quasars. A sample of 355 quasars selected on the basis of radio detection was obtained by cross-matching the FIRST survey at 20cm and the SDSS DR12 spectroscopic survey. We consider the nature of powerful emission at the high-FeII end of the MS. At variance with the classical radio-loud sources which are located in the Population B domain of the MS optical plane, we found evidence indicating a thermal origin of the radio emission of the highly accreting quasars of Population A.
Quasars behind the Galactic plane (GPQs) are important astrometric references and useful probes of Milky Way gas. However, the search for GPQs is difficult due to large extinctions and high source densities in the Galactic plane. Existing selection methods for quasars developed using high Galactic latitude (high-$b$) data cannot be applied to the Galactic plane directly because the photometric data obtained from high-$b$ regions and the Galactic plane follow different probability distributions. To alleviate this dataset shift problem for quasar candidate selection, we adopt a Transfer Learning…
Finding Quasars behind the Galactic Plane. IV. Candidate Selection from Chandra with Random Forest
Shenzhen Technology University(深圳理工大学);National Astronomical Observatories(国家天文台);Leiden Observatory, Leiden University(莱顿大学莱顿天文台);Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen(格罗宁根大学卡普坦天文研究所);Peking University(北京大学)
Quasars behind the Galactic plane (GPQs) are important astrometric references and valuable probes of Galactic gas, yet the search for GPQs is difficult due to severe extinction and source crowding in the Galactic plane. In this paper, we present a sample of 204 spectroscopically confirmed GPQs at |b|<20°, 191 of which are new discoveries. This GPQ sample covers a wide redshift range from 0.069 to 4.487. For the subset of 230 observed GPQ candidates, the lower limit of the purity of quasars is 85.2%, and the lower limit of the fraction of stellar contaminants is 6.1%. Using a multicomponent spe…
Mapping the Quasar Main Sequence in the UV range: A Connection with the UV Fe III Emission
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México(墨西哥国立自治大学);Universidad de Concepción(康塞普西翁大学);Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS)(天体物理学千年研究所);University of Utah(犹他大学);National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Astronomical Observatory of Padua(国家天体物理研究所帕多瓦天文台);Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA–CSIC)(安达卢西亚天体物理研究所);International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab(国际吉米尼观测站/美国国家光学红外天文研究实验室)
本研究利用紫外 1900 混合发射及 Fe III/Fe II 发射构建类星体主序的紫外对应平面,验证其可区分不同族群并识别高吸积 xA 源,为高红移研究提供新途径。
We present preliminary results of the CIDA Equatorial Variability Survey (CEVS), looking for quasar (hereafter QSO) candidates near the Galactic plane. The CEVS contains photometric data from extended and adjacent regions of the Milky Way disk ($\sim$ 500 sq. deg.). In this work 2.5 square degrees with moderately high temporal sampling in the CEVS were analyzed. The selection of QSO candidates was based on the study of intrinsic optical photometric variability of 14,719 light curves. We studied samples defined by cuts in the variability index (Vindex $>$ 66.5), periodicity index (Q $>$ 2), and…
Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies are defined on the basis of their line widths, and they are generally considered to be high Eddington ratio sources. But in the context of the Quasar Main Sequence, high Eddington rate sources are those which have weak [O III] lines and strong Fe II lines. There is an overlap between the two populations, but they are not identical. Thus these two selection criteria give a different view on which objects are actually high Eddington ratio sources. We discuss this issue in the context of the broad band spectral energy density, emission line shape modeling, Fe II pse…
Following the established view of the AGNs inner workings, an AGN is radio-loud (RL) if associated with relativistic ejections emitting a radio synchrotron spectrum (i.e., a jetted AGN). If large samples of optically-selected quasars are considered, AGNs are identified as RL if their Kellermann's radio loudness ratio RK > 10. Our aims are to characterize the optical properties of different classes based on radio-loudness within the quasar main sequence (MS) and to test whether the condition RK > 10 is sufficient for the identification of RL AGNs. A sample of 355 quasars was selected by cross-c…
Recently some pessimism has been expressed about our lack of progress in understanding quasars over the 50+ year since their discovery. It is worthwhile to look back at some of the progress that has been made - but still lies under the radar - perhaps because few people are working on optical/UV spectroscopy in this field. Great advances in understanding quasar phenomenology have emerged using eigenvector techniques. The 4D eigenvector 1 context provides a surrogate H-R Diagram for quasars with a source main sequence driven by Eddington ratio convolved with line-of-sight orientation. Appreciat…
Optical and UV properties of radio-quiet (RQ) and radio-loud (RL, relativistically "jetted") active galactic nuclei (AGN) are known to differ markedly; however, it is still unclear what is due to a sample selection and what is associated with intrinsic differences in the inner workings of their emitting regions. Chemical composition is an important parameter related to the trends of the quasar main sequence. Recent works suggest that in addition to physical properties such as density, column density, and ionization level, strong FeII emitters require very high metal content. Little is known, h…
We use 62,185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5 sample and standard virial mass scaling laws based on the widths of H beta, Mg II, and C IV lines and adjacent continuum luminosities to explore the maximum mass of quasars as a function of redshift, which we find to be sharp and evolving. This evolution is in the sense that high-mass black holes cease their luminous accretion at higher redshift than lower-mass black holes. Further, turnoff for quasars at any given mass is more highly synchronized than would be expected given the dynamics of their host galaxies. We investigate potenti…
We address the effect of orientation of the accretion disk plane and the geometry of the broad-line region (BLR) as part of an effort to understand the distribution of quasars in the optical plane of the quasar main sequence. We utilize the photoionization code CLOUDY to model the BLR incorporating the grossly underestimated form factor ($f$). Treating the aspect of viewing angle appropriately, we confirm the dependence of the $R_{\mathrm{FeII}}$ sequence on Eddington ratio and on the related observational trends - as a function of the SED shape, cloud density and composition, verified from pr…
We aim to evaluate the behaviour of our 22 high-redshift (2.2 < z < 3.7) and high-luminosity (47.39 < Lbol < 48.36) quasars in the context of the 4-Dimensional Eigenvector 1. Our approach involves studying quasar physics through spectroscopic exploration of UV and optical emission line diagnostics. We are using new observations from ISAAC/VLT and mainly from the SDSS to cover the optical and the UV rest-frames, respectively. Emission lines are characterised both through a quantitative parametrisation of the line profiles, and by decomposing the emission line profiles using multicomponent fitti…
The main sequence offers a method for the systematization of quasar spectral properties. Extreme FeII emitters (or extreme Population A, xA) are believed to be sources accreting matter at very high rates. They are easily identifiable along the quasar main sequence, in large spectroscopic surveys over a broad redshift range. The very high accretion rate makes it possible that massive black holes hosted in xA quasars radiate at a stable, extreme luminosity-to-mass ratio. After reviewing the basic interpretation of the main sequence, we report on the possibility of identifying virial broadening e…
We use 62185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 sample to explore the relationship between black hole mass and luminosity. Black hole masses were estimated based on the widths of their Hβ, MgII and CIV lines and adjacent continuum luminosities using standard virial mass estimate scaling laws. We find that, over the range 0.2 < z < 4.0, the most luminous low-mass quasars are at their Eddington luminosity, but the most luminous high-mass quasars in each redshift bin fall short of their Eddington luminosities, with the shortfall of the order of 10 or more at 0.2 < z < 0.6. W…
Much effort has been done in order to better understand the active galactic nuclei mechanisms behind the relativistic jets observed in radio-loud sources. These phenomena are commonly seen in luminous objects with intermediate/high redshift such as quasars, so that the analysis of the spectroscopic properties of these sources may be a way to clarify this issue. Measurements are presented and contextualized taking advantage of the set of correlations associated with the quasar Main Sequence (MS), a parameter space that allows to connect observed properties to the relative relevance of radiative…
We address the effect of the viewing angle of the accretion disk plane and the geometry of the broad-line region (BLR) with the goal of interpreting the distribution of quasars along the main sequence (MS). We utilize photoionization code CLOUDY to model the BLR FeII emission, incorporating the grossly underestimated role of the form factor (f). We recover the dependence of the strength of the FeII emission in the optical (R$_{\rm{FeII}}$) on L$_{\rm{bol}}$/L$_{\rm{Edd}}$ ratio and related observational trends - as a function of the spectral energy distribution (SED) shape, cloud density, comp…
This work aimed to find the relationship between quasars' optical variability and spectral features to reveal the regularity behind the random variation. It is known that quasar's FeII/Hbeta flux ratio and equivalent width of [OIII]5007 are negatively correlated, called Eigenvector 1. In this work, we visualized the relationship between the position on this Eigenvector 1 (EV1) plane and how they had changed their brightness after ~10 years. We conducted three analyses using different quasar samples each. The first analysis showed the relation between their distributions on the EV1 plane and ho…
We offer a broad review of Balmer line phenomenology in type 1 active galactic nuclei, briefly sum- marising luminosity and radio loudness effects, and discussing interpretation in terms of nebular physics along the 4D eigenvector 1 sequence of quasars. We stress that relatively rare, peculiar Balmer line profiles (i.e., with large shifts with respect to the rest frame or double and multiple peaked) that start attracted attentions since the 1970s are still passable of multiple dynamical interpretation. More mainstream objects are still not fully understood as well, since competing dynamical mo…
We use 62185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR5 sample to explore the quasar mass-luminosity plane view of virial mass estimation. Previous work shows deviations of ~0.4 dex between virial and reverberation masses. The decline in quasar number density for the highest Eddington ratio quasars at each redshift provides an upper bound of between 0.13 and 0.29 dex for virial mass estimate statistical uncertainties. Across different redshift bins, the maximum possible MgII mass uncertainties average 0.15 dex, while Hβ uncertainties average 0.21 dex and CIV uncertainties average 0.2…
We explore the evolution of the time variability (in the optical $g$-band and on timescales of weeks to years) of SDSS Stripe 82 quasars along the quasar main sequence. A parent sample of $1004$ quasars within $0.5\leq z \leq 0.89$ are used for our statistical studies, we then make subsamples from our parent sample: a subsample of $246$ quasars with similar luminosities, and a subsample of $399$ quasars with similar Rfe (i.e., the ratio of the equivalent width of FeII within $4435$--$4685\ \mathrmÅ$ to that of \Hbeta). We find the variability amplitude decreases with luminosity ($L_{\mathrm{bo…
Broad emission lines in quasars enable us to "resolve" structure and kinematics of the broad line emitting region (BLR) thought to in- volve an accretion disk feeding a supermassive black hole. Interpretation of broad line measures within the 4DE1 formalism simplifies the apparent confusion among such data by contrasting and unifying properties of so-called high and low accreting Population A and B sources. Hβ serves as an estimator of black hole mass, Eddington ratio and source rest frame, the latter a valuable input for Civλ1549 studies which allow us to isolate the blueshifted wind componen…
We measure the stellar mass surface densities of early type galaxies by observing the micro-lensing of macro-lensed quasars caused by individual stars, including stellar remnants, brown dwarfs and red dwarfs too faint to produce photometric or spectroscopic signatures. Instead of observing multiple micro-lensing events in a single system, we combine single epoch X-ray snapshots of ten quadruple systems, and compare the measured relative magnifications for the images with those computed from macro-models. We use these to normalize a stellar mass fundamental plane constructed using a Salpeter IM…
Hot, Photoionized X-ray Gas in Two Luminous Type 2 Quasars: Chandra-HST Evidence for a Wind-Driven Sequence
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center(NASA戈达德太空飞行中心);The Catholic University of America(天主教大学);Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics(哈佛-史密森天体物理中心);INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma(意大利国家天体物理研究所罗马天文台);Eureka Scientific, Inc.(尤里卡科学公司);INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera(意大利国家天体物理研究所布雷拉天文台);Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Trento(特伦托大学物理系);Naval Research Laboratory(海军研究实验室);AURA for ESA(欧洲空间局美国天文研究联盟)
We examine the fundamental plane of black hole activity for correlations with redshift and radio loudness in both radio-loud and radio-quiet quasar populations. Sources are compiled from archival data of both radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars over redshifts $0.1 < z < 5.0$ to produce a sample of 353 sources with known X-ray, radio, and black hole mass measurements. A fundamental plane of accretion activity is fit to a sample of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars, and we find a dichotomy between radio-loud and radio-quiet sources. The set of best-fit equations that best describe the two sample…
Built upon a sample of 134 quasars that was dedicated to a systematic study of \mgii-BAL variability from Yi et al. (2019a), we investigate these quasars showing \mgii-BAL disappearance or emergence with the aid of at least three epoch optical spectra sampled more than 15 yr in the observed frame. We identified 3/3 quasars undergoing pristine/tentative BAL transformations. The incidence of pristine BAL transformations in the sample is therefore derived to be 2.2$_{-1.2}^{+2.2}$\%, consistent with that of high-ionization BAL transformations from the literature. Adopting an average \mgii-BAL dis…
By exploring more than sixty thousand quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5, Steinhardt & Elvis discovered a sub-Eddington boundary and a redshift-dependent drop-off at higher black hole mass, possible clues to the growth history of massive black holes. Our contribution to this special issue of Universe amounts to an application of a model for black hole accretion and jet formation to these observations. For illustrative purposes we include about 100,000 data points from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 where the sub-Eddington boundary is also visible, and propose…
This program is part of QUEST (Quasar/ULIRG Evolutionary Study) and seeks to examine the gaseous environments of z < 0.3 quasars and ULIRGs as a function of host galaxy properties and age across the merger sequence from ULIRGs to quasars. This first paper in the series focuses on 33 quasars from the QUEST sample and on the kinematics of the highly ionized gas phase traced by the N V 1238, 1243 A and O VI 1032, 1038 A absorption lines in high-quality Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) data. N V and O VI outflows are present in about 60% of the QUEST quasars and span …
Quasar host galaxies are key for understanding the relation between galaxies and the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at their centers. We present a study of 191 broad-line quasars and their host galaxies at z < 1, using high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) spectra produced by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project. Clear detection of stellar absorption lines allows a reliable decomposition of the observed spectra into nuclear and host components, using spectral models of quasar and stellar radiations as well as emission lines from the interstellar medium. We estimate age, mass…
We study the demographics of z ~ 6 broad-line quasars in the black hole (BH) mass-luminosity plane using a sample of more than 100 quasars at 5.7 < z < 6.5. These quasars have well quantified selection functions and nearly one third of them also have virial BH masses estimated from near-IR spectroscopy. We use forward modeling of parameterized intrinsic distributions of BH masses and Eddington ratios, and account for the sample flux limits and measurement uncertainties of the BH masses and luminosities. We find significant differences between the intrinsic and observed distributions of the qua…
The realization of fundamental relations between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies would have profound implications in astrophysics. To add further context to studies of their co-evolution, an investigation is carried out to gain insight as to whether quasars and their hosts at earlier epochs follow the local relation between black hole (BH) mass and stellar velocity dispersion. We use 584 SDSS quasars at 0.2 < z < 0.8 with black hole measurements, and properties of their hosts from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program. An inference of the stellar velocity dispersion i…
Eigenvector 1 (EV1) was found to be the dominant component behind the significant correlations for the measured parameters in quasar spectra (Boroson & Green, 1992). The parameter R$_{\mathrm{FeII}}$, which strongly correlates to the EV1, is the ${\mathrm{FeII}}$ strength, defined to be the ratio of the equivalent width of ${\mathrm{FeII}}$ to the equivalent width of ${\mathrm{Hβ}}$. This allows to construct a quasar main sequence analogous to the stellar properties driven HR diagram (Sulentic et al. 2001). We try to find the main driver behind the EV1 among the basic (theoretically motivated)…
We present the largest sample of giant radio quasars (GRQs), which are defined as having a projected linear size greater than 0.7 Mpc. The sample consists of 272 GRQs, of which 174 are new objects discovered through cross-matching the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 14$^{\rm th}$ Data Release Quasar Catalogue (DR14Q) and confirmed using Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters (FIRST) radio maps. In our analysis we compare the GRQs with 367 smaller, lobe-dominated radio quasars found using our search method, as well as with quasars from the SDSS DR14 Quas…
Quasars are among the most luminous sources characterized by their broad band spectra ranging from radio through optical to X-ray band, with numerous emission and absorption features. Using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Boroson & Green (1992) were able to show significant correlations between the measured parameters. Among the significant correlations projected, the leading component, related to Eigenvector 1 (EV1) was dominated by the anti-correlation between the Fe${\mathrm{II}}$ optical emission and [OIII] line where the EV1 alone contained 30% of the total variance. This introduc…
We have obtained spectropolarimetric observations of the four images of the gravitationally lensed broad absorption line quasar H1413+117. The polarization of the microlensed image D is significantly different both in the continuum and in the broad lines from the polarization of image A which is essentially unaffected by microlensing. The observations suggest that the continuum is scattered off two regions spatially separated and producing roughly perpendicular polarizations. These results are compatible with a model in which the microlensed polarized continuum comes from a compact region loca…
Quasars are complex sources, characterized by broad band spectra from radio through optical to X-ray band, with numerous emission and absorption features. However, Boroson & Green (1992) used Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and with this analysis they were able to show significant correlations between the measured parameters. The leading component, related to Eigenvector 1 (EV1) was dominated by the anticorrelation between the Fe${\mathrm{II}}$ optical emission and [OIII] line and EV1 alone contained 30% of the total variance. It opened a way in defining a quasar main sequence, in close an…
While quasar outflows may be quasi-ubiquitous, there are significant differences on a source-by- source basis. These differences can be organized along the 4D Eigenvector 1 sequence: at least at low z, with only Population A sources radiating at relatively high Eddington ratio and showing prominent high-velocity outflows in Civ λ1549 line profiles. We discuss in this paper VLT-FORS observations of Civ λ1549 emission line profiles for a high-luminosity sample of Hamburg- ESO quasars and how they are affected by outflow motion as a function of quasar luminosity. Our high- luminosity sample has t…
We report on three redshift $z>2$ quasars with dramatic changes in their C IV emission lines, the first sample of changing-look quasars (CLQs) at high redshift. This is also the first time the changing-look behaviour has been seen in a high-ionisation emission line. SDSS J1205+3422, J1638+2827, and J2228+2201 show interesting behaviour in their observed optical light curves, and subsequent spectroscopy shows significant changes in the C IV broad emission line, with both line collapse and emergence being displayed on rest-frame timescales of $\sim$240-1640 days. These are rapid changes, especia…
We present a new study of archival ALMA observations of the CO(2-1) line emission of the host galaxy of quasar RX J1131 at redshift $z$=0.654, lensed by a foreground galaxy. A simple lens model is shown to well reproduce the optical images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Clear evidence for rotation of the gas contained in the galaxy is obtained and a simple rotating disc model is shown to give an excellent overall description of the morpho-kinematics of the source. The possible presence of a companion galaxy suggested by some previous authors is not confirmed. Detailed comparison betwe…
Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are key for understanding the coevolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBHs). AGN activity is thought to affect the properties of their host galaxies, via a process called "AGN feedback", which drives the co-evolution. From a parent sample of 1151 z < 1 type-1 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasar catalog, we detected host galaxies of 862 of them in the high-quality grizy images of the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey. The unprecedented combination of the survey area and depth allows us to perform a statistical analysis of the quasar …
We present an analysis of UV spectra of 13 quasars believed to belong to extreme Population A (xA) quasars, aimed at the estimation of the chemical abundances of the broad line emitting gas. Metallicity estimates for the broad line emitting gas of quasars are subject to a number of caveats, although present data suggest the possibility of an increase along the quasar main sequence along with prominence of optical Fe II emission. Extreme Population A sources with the strongest Fe II emission offer several advantages with respect to the quasar general population, as their optical and UV emission…
We present ALMA band-7 data of the [CII] $\lambda157.74\,μ{\rm m}$ emission line and underlying far-infrared (FIR) continuum for twelve luminous quasars at $z \simeq 4.8$, powered by fast-growing supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Our total sample consists of eighteen quasars, twelve of which are presented here for the first time. The new sources consists of six Herschel/SPIRE detected systems, which we define as "FIR-bright" sources, and six Herschel/SPIRE undetected systems, which we define as "FIR-faint" sources. We determine dust masses for the quasars hosts of $M_{dust} \le 0.2-25.0\times …
Observations of several gravitationally microlensed quasars in X-rays revealed variations in the profile of the iron K$α$ line in the course of microlensing events. We explore the effect by simulating a microlensing caustic crossing a spatially resolved model of emission from a thin accretion disk around a Kerr black hole. We demonstrate the sequence of spectral changes during the event, in particular the appearance of additional peaks and edges in the line profile due to microlensing. We trace the origin of these features to points on the disk, at which the total energy shift ($g$-factor) con…
The concept of the evolutionary sequence of jetted active galactic nuclei (AGNs) has been challenged in the last few decades since AGN subclasses are considered to be different due to their viewing angle. In this paper, we collected a sample of 1108 blazars (472 flat-spectrum radio quasars, FSRQs and 636 BL Lacertae objects, BL Lacs) and 120 Seyfert galaxies (SGs) with available redshifts and spectral properties in radio, optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray bands in order to compare the properties of SGs and the blazar subclasses and also explore their possible unification through evolution. It is f…