An archival study of IUE observations of low redshift quasars

The emission line and continuum characteristics of a sample of 18 low redshift QSOs from the IUE Archives are presented. The spectral index is found to have a mean value of 1.22, which is considerably steeper than the index of the same spectral region for high redshift QSOs. The line ratios L alpha/H beta and C IV/L alpha for the sample, 9.4 + or - 1.9 and 0.61 + or - .06, respectively, are consistent with the values of the photoionization models. When the low redshift sample is extended with Seyfert galaxies, intermediate redshift QSOs and high redshift QSOs, the equivalent width of L alpha and CIV anticorrelates with the luminosity at 1450 A. The slope of the anticorrelation is seen to be steeper for the higher redshift samples than for the lower redshift samples.