MgII-BAL quasar variability in SDSS spectra Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. Yi W.
  2. Brandt W.N.
  3. Hall P.B.
  4. Vivek M.
  5. Grier C.J.
  6. Ak N.F.,Schneider D.P.
  7. McGraw S.M.
  8. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

We present absorption variability results for 134 bona fide MgII broad absorption-line (BAL) quasars at 0.46<=z<=2.3 covering days to ~10yr in the rest frame. We use multiple-epoch spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which has delivered the largest such BAL variability sample ever studied. MgII-BAL identifications and related measurements are compiled and presented in a catalog. We find a remarkable time-dependent asymmetry in the equivalent width (EW) variation from the sample, such that weakening troughs outnumber strengthening troughs, the first report of such a phenomenon in BAL variability. Our investigations of the sample further reveal that (i) the frequency of BAL variability is significantly lower (typically by a factor of 2) than that in high-ionization BALQSO samples, (ii) MgII-BAL absorbers tend to have relatively high optical depths and small covering factors along our line of sight, (iii) there is no significant EW-variability correlation between MgII troughs at different velocities in the same quasar, and (iv) the EW-variability correlation between MgII and AlIII BALs is significantly stronger than that between MgII and CIV BALs at the same velocities. These observational results can be explained by a combined transverse-motion/ionization-change scenario, where transverse motions likely dominate the strengthening BALs while ionization changes and/or other mechanisms dominate the weakening BALs.

Keywords
  1. quasars
  2. visible-astronomy
  3. spectroscopy
  4. redshifted
  5. line-intensities
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2019ApJS..242...28Y
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/ApJS/242/28
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/242/28
Document Object Identifer DOI
doi:10.26093/cds/vizier.22420028

Access

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http://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJS/242/28
https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJS/242/28
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/ApJS/242/28
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https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJS/242/28/table2?
http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJS/242/28/table2?
IVOA Cone Search SCS
For use with a cone search client (e.g., TOPCAT).
https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/0?
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http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/ApJS/242/28/table3?

History

2020-01-31T15:18:22Z
Resource record created
2020-01-31T15:18:22Z
Created
2020-04-20T13:45:10Z
Updated

Contact

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CDS support team
Postal Address
CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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