Unveiling the monster heart: unbeamed properties of blazar 4C 71.07

Abstract

4C 71.07 is a high-redshift blazar whose optical radiation is dominated by quasar-like nuclear emission. We here present the results of a spectroscopic monitoring of the source to study its unbeamed properties. We obtained 24 optical spectra at the Nordic Optical Telescope and William Herschel Telescope and 3 near-infrared spectra at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. They show no evidence of narrow emission lines. The estimate of the systemic redshift from the Hβ and Hα broad emission lines leads to z<SUB>sys</SUB> = 2.2130 ± 0.0004. Notwithstanding the nearly face-on orientation of the accretion disc, the high-ionization emission lines present large broadening as well as noticeable blueshifts, which increase with the ionizing energy of the corresponding species. This is a clear indication of strong ionized outflows. Line broadening and blueshift appear correlated. We applied scaling relationships to estimate the mass of the supermassive black hole from the Balmer and C IV lines, taking into account the prescriptions to correct for outflow. They give M_BH ∼ 2 × 10^9 M_⊙. We derived an Eddington luminosity L_Edd ∼ 2.5 × 10^{47} erg s^{-1} ∼ L<SUB>disc</SUB>, and a broad-line region (BLR) luminosity of L_BLR ∼ 1.5 × 10^{46} erg s^{-1}. The line fluxes do not show significant variability in time. In particular, there is no line reaction to the jet flaring activity detected in 2015 October and November. This implies that the jet gives no contribution to the photoionization of the BLR in the considered period.