Windy or Not: Radio Parsec-scale Evidence for a Broad-line Region Wind in Radio-quiet Quasars
Journal
Date Issued
2024
Author(s)
Chen, Sina
•
Laor, Ari
•
Behar, Ehud
•
•
Gelfand, Joseph D.
•
Kimball, Amy E.
•
McHardy, Ian M.
•
Orosz, Gabor
•
Paragi, Zsolt
Abstract
Does a broad-line region (BLR) wind in radio-quiet (RQ) active galactic nuclei (AGN) extend to parsec scales and produce radio emission? We explore the correlations between a parsec-scale radio wind and the BLR wind in a sample of 19 RQ Palomar-Green quasars. The radio wind is defined based on the spectral slope and the compactness of the emission at 1.5-5 GHz, and the BLR wind is defined by the excess blue wing in the C iv emission line profile. The five objects with both radio and BLR wind indicators are found at high Eddington ratios, L/L Edd (≥0.66), and eight of the nine objects with neither radio nor BLR winds reside at low L/L Edd (≤0.28). This suggests that the BLR wind and the radio wind in RQ AGN are related to a radiation-pressure-driven wind. Evidence for free-free absorption by AGN photoionized gas, which flattens the spectral slope, is found in two objects. Radio outflows in three low-L/L Edd (0.05-0.12) objects are likely from a low-power jet, as suggested by additional evidence. The presence of a mild equatorial BLR wind in four intermediate-L/L Edd (0.2-0.4) objects can be tested with future spectropolarimetry.
Volume
975
Issue
1
Start page
35
Issn Identifier
0004-637X
Rights
open.access
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