On the Disappearance of the Broad-Line Region in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei

Authors

Moshe Elitzur, University of KentuckyFollow
Luis C. Ho, The Observatoires of the Carnegie Institution of Washington

Abstract

The disk-wind scenario for the broad-line region (BLR) and toroidal obscuration in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) predicts the disappearance of the BLR at low luminosities. In accordance with the model predictions, data from a nearly complete sample of nearby AGNs show that the BLR disappears at luminosities lower than 5 × 10³⁹(M/10⁷ M_⊙)^2/3 erg s^-1, where M is the black hole mass. The radiative efficiency of accretion onto the black hole is ≲10^-3 for these sources, indicating that their accretion is advection-dominated.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-20-2010

Notes/Citation Information

Published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, v. 701, no. 2, p. L91-L94.

© 2010. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

The copyright holder has granted permission for posting the article here.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/701/2/L91

Repository Citation

Elitzur, Moshe and Ho, Luis C., "On the Disappearance of the Broad-Line Region in Low-Luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei" (2010). Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications. 195.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/physastron_facpub/195