No Arabic abstract
The study of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) is now mostly limited to low redshift ($z<0.8$) because their definition requires the presence of the H$beta$ emission line, which is redshifted out of the spectral coverage of major ground-based spectroscopic surveys at $z>0.8$. We studied the correlation between the properties of H$beta$ and Mg II lines of a large sample of SDSS DR14 quasars to find high-$z$ NLS1 candidates. Based on the strong correlation of $mathrm{FWHM(MgII)=(0.880pm 0.005) times FWHM(Hbeta)+ (0.438pm0.018)}$, we present a sample of high-$z$ NLS1 candidates having FWHM of Mg II $<$ 2000 km s$^{-1}$. The high-$z$ sample contains 2684 NLS1s with redshift $z=0.8-2.5$ with a median logarithmic bolometric luminosity of $46.16pm0.42$ erg s$^{-1}$, logarithmic black hole mass of $8.01pm0.35 M_{odot}$, and logarithmic Eddington ratio of $0.02pm0.27$. The fraction of radio-detected high-$z$ NLS1s is similar to that of the low-$z$ NLS1s and SDSS DR14 quasars at a similar redshift range, and their radio luminosity is found to be strongly correlated with their black hole mass.
Narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) galaxies constitute a class of active galactic nuclei characterized by the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the H$beta$ broad emission line < 2000 km/s and the flux ratio of [O III] to H$beta$ < 3. Their properties are not well understood since only a few NLSy1 galaxies were known earlier. We have studied various properties of NLSy1 galaxies using an enlarged sample and compared them with the conventional broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLSy1) galaxies. Both the sample of sources have z $le$ 0.8 and their optical spectra from SDSS-DR12 that are used to derive various physical parameters have a median signal to noise (S/N) ratio >10 per pixel. Strong correlations between the H$beta$ and H$alpha$ emission lines are found both in the FWHM and flux. The nuclear continuum luminosity is found to be strongly correlated with the luminosity of H$beta$, H$alpha$ and [O III] emission lines. The black hole mass in NLSy1 galaxies is lower compared to their broad line counterparts. Compared to BLSy1 galaxies, NLSy1 galaxies have a stronger FeII emission and a higher Eddington ratio that place them in the extreme upper right corner of the $R_{4570}$ - $xi_{Edd}$ diagram. The distribution of the radio-loudness parameter (R) in NLSy1 galaxies drops rapidly at R > 10 compared to the BLSy1 galaxies that have powerful radio jets. The soft X-ray photon index in NLSy1 galaxies is on average higher (2.9 $pm$ 0.9) than BLSy1 galaxies (2.4 $pm$ 0.8). It is anti-correlated with the H$beta$ width but correlated with the Fe II strength. NLSy1 galaxies on average have a lower amplitude of optical variability compared to their broad lines counterparts. These results suggest Eddington ratio as the main parameter that drives optical variability in these sources.
I provide a short review of the properties of Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum and of the models to explain them. Their continuum and emission-line properties manifest one extreme form of Seyfert activity. As such, NLS1 galaxies may hold important clues to the key parameters that drive nuclear activity. Their high accretion rates close to the Eddington rate provide new insight into accretion physics, their low black hole masses and perhaps young ages allow us to address issues of black hole growth, their strong optical FeII emission places strong constraints on FeII and perhaps metal formation models and physical conditions in these emission-line clouds, and their enhanced radio quiteness permits a fresh look at causes of radio loudness and the radio-loud radio-quiet bimodality in AGN.
Mrk 1388 has an unusual Seyfert nucleus that shows narrow emission-line components without broad ones, but shows a strong featureless continuum and strong iron-forbidden high-ionization emission lines. The apparent coexistence of type-1/2 characteristics is potentially attributed to a heavily obscured broad-line region or to an intermediate-mass black hole with a broad-line component intrinsically narrower than those of typical narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies. Our observation using very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) reveals high-brightness radio emission from nonthermal jets from an active galactic nucleus (AGN) with a significant radio luminosity. Furthermore, we investigate the radial profile of the host galaxy using a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image, which shows a Sersic index suggestive of a pseudobulge. Using the VLBI and HST results, which are essentially not affected by dust extinction, three individual methods provide similar estimates for the black hole mass: (0.76--5.4)x10^6 M_sun, 1.5x10^6 M_sun, and 4.1x10^6 M_sun. These masses are in a range that is preferential for typical NLS1 galaxies rather than for intermediate-mass black holes. Based on the estimated masses, the full width at half maximum $FWHM(H_beta)$ of approximately 1200--1700 km/s should have been seen. The scenario of a heavily absorbed NLS1 nucleus can explain the peculiarities previously observed.
We report finding kiloparsec-scale radio emissions aligned with parsec-scale jet structures in the narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy Mrk 1239 using the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array. Thus, this radio-quiet NLS1 has a jet-producing central engine driven by essentially the same mechanism as that of other radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Most of the radio luminosity is concentrated within 100 parsecs and overall radio morphology looks edge-darkened; the estimated jet kinetic power is comparable to Fanaroff--Riley Type I radio galaxies. The conversion from accretion to jet power appears to be highly inefficient in this highly accreting low-mass black hole system compared with that in a low-luminosity AGN with similar radio power driven by a sub-Eddington, high-mass black hole. Thus, Mrk 1239 is a crucial probe to the unexplored parameter spaces of central engines for a jet formation.
We studied optical variability (OV) of a large sample of narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1) and broad-line Seyfert 1 (BLSy1) galaxies with z<0.8 to investigate any differences in their OV properties. Using archival optical V-band light curves from the Catalina Real Time Transient Survey that span 5-9 years and modeling them using damped random walk, we estimated the amplitude of variability. We found NLSy1 galaxies as a class show lower amplitude of variability than their broad-line counterparts. In the sample of both NLSy1 and BLSy1 galaxies, radio-loud sources are found to have higher variability amplitude than radio-quiet sources. Considering only sources that are detected in the X-ray band, NLSy1 galaxies are less optically variable than BLSy1 galaxies. The amplitude of variability in the sample of both NLSy1 and BLSy1 galaxies is found to be anti-correlated with Fe II strength but correlated with the width of the H-beta line. The well-known anti-correlation of variability-luminosity and the variability-Eddington ratio is present in our data. Among the radio-loud sample, variability amplitude is found to be correlated with radio-loudness and radio-power suggesting jets also play an important role in the OV in radio-loud objects, in addition to the Eddington ratio, which is the main driving factor of OV in radio-quiet sources.