NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Evidence for a supermassive black hole in the nucleus of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548The international campaign to monitor the variable Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 with the IUE has provided an extensive and well-sampled set of spectroscopic observations. These observations are used to study the response of the C IV 1550 A emission-line profile to changes in the photoionizing continuum. Near the end of the IUE campaign, the continuum flux at 1440 A and the total C IV flux dopped by factors of 2.9 and 1.8, respectively, in 16 days. The red wing of the C IV profile responded more rapidly to the sharp continuum drop than the blue wing, indicating that clouds in the inner broad-line region (BLR) are undergoing gravitational infall. These results provide direct evidence that the central engine is a supermassive object, presumably a black hole, with a mass on the order of 10 to the 7th solar masses. Analysis of the profile variations also demonstrates that excess emission in the blue wing of C IV is from a component that is physically distinct from the bulk of the BLR.
Document ID
19900055807
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Crenshaw, D. Michael
(Computer Sciences Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
Blackwell, James H., Jr.
(Computer Sciences Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
August 1, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 2 - Letters
Volume: 358
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
90A42862
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-28749
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available