Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasma 2023

A special issue of Physics (ISSN 2624-8174). This special issue belongs to the section "Astronomy, Astrophysics and Planetology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2023) | Viewed by 5777

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Astronomical Observatory, in Belgrade, Bolgina 7, 11160 Belgrade, Serbia
2. Faculty of Mathematics University of Belgrade, Studentski Trg 16, Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: active galactic nuclei; gravitational lensing; plasma physics; ionosphere
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Guest Editor
Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11160 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: spectroscopy of astrophysical plasma; active galactic nuclei; stellar populations

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Guest Editor
Astronomical Observatory, Volgina 7, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: spectroscopy of astrophysical plasma; active galactic nuclei

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Guest Editor
Paris Observatory PSL, Sorbonne University, LERMA, 5 Place Jules Janssen, 92190 Meudon, France
Interests: theoretical atomic physics; astrophysics; plasma physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that a series of works presented at the 14th Serbian Conference on Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics (14th SCSLSA, (http://www.scslsa.matf.bg.ac.rs/ or http://servo.aob.rs/scslsa13/index.html)) has been selected for this Special Issue of Physics. The conference is to be held in Bajina Basta (Serbia) from June 19 to June 23, 2023. This will not be traditional conference proceedings but rather regular research papers meeting the standards of publication in the journal Physics, so the title and abstract should be substantially different from that published in the book of abstract which will be published prior to the conference. The invited contributions will have their APC waived if published. The Special Issue will be focused on the spectral line investigations in laboratory and astrophysical plasma.

Spectral lines, their widths, and, more generally, their shapes are powerful diagnostic tools for probing emitting/absorbing gas in different astrophysical objects, from the solar system to the most distant objects in the universe—quasars. The emission/absorption lines of astrophysical objects are produced over a wide range of distances from an observer and under a wide range of physical and kinematic conditions. Therefore, in astrophysical objects lines from the X-ray region (e.g., Fe α) to the radio region (e.g., radio recombination lines) wavelength range have been studied. In parallel with this, experimental and theoretical investigations of laboratory plasmas are needed for spectroscopic astrophysical research; in particular, the same atomic data are needed for line-shape calculations.

The aim of this Special Issue is to reflect the most recent trends in the fields of spectral line shapes investigation in different fields, from atomic physics (providing line emission parameters) to the spectral line profile application for investigation of plasma conditions around the supermassive black holes.

Prof. Dr. Luka Č. Popović
Dr. Nataša Bon
Dr. Edi Bon
Dr. Sylvie Sahal-Bréchot
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • astrophysiсs
  • atomic physics
  • spectroscopy
  • spectral lines
  • databases for spectral data
  • laboratory plasma
  • solar physics
  • stellar physics
  • galaxies: active galactic nuclei
  • galaxies: interstellar matter

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4674 KiB  
Article
From Sub-Solar to Super-Solar Chemical Abundances along the Quasar Main Sequence
by Paola Marziani, Alberto Floris, Alice Deconto-Machado, Swayamtrupta Panda, Marzena Sniegowska, Karla Garnica, Deborah Dultzin, Mauro D’Onofrio, Ascensión Del Olmo, Edi Bon and Nataša Bon
Physics 2024, 6(1), 216-236; https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010016 - 17 Feb 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1076
Abstract
The 4D (four-dimensional) eigenvector 1 (E1) sequence has proven to be a highly effective tool for organizing observational and physical properties of type-1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In this paper, we present multiple measurements of metallicity for the broad line region gas, from [...] Read more.
The 4D (four-dimensional) eigenvector 1 (E1) sequence has proven to be a highly effective tool for organizing observational and physical properties of type-1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In this paper, we present multiple measurements of metallicity for the broad line region gas, from new and previously-published data. We demonstrate a consistent trend along the optical plane of the E1 (also known as the quasar main sequence), defined by the line width of Balmer hydrogen Hβ profile and by a parameter measuring the prominence of singly-ionized iron emission. The trend involves an increase from sub-solar metallicity in correspondence with extreme Population B (weak Feii emission, large Hβ FWHM (full width at half maximum)) to metallicity several tens the solar value in correspondence with extreme Population A (strongest Feii optical emission, narrower Hβ profiles). The data establish the metallicity as a correlate of the 4DE1/main sequence. If the considerably high metallicity (Z10Z, solar metallicity) gas is expelled from the sphere of influence of the central black hole, as indicated by the widespread evidence of nuclear outflows and disk wind in the case of sources radiating at a high Eddington ratio, then it is possible that the outflows from quasars played a role in chemically enriching the host galaxy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasma 2023)
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17 pages, 4481 KiB  
Article
Joint Analysis of the Iron Emission in the Optical and Near-Infrared Spectrum of I Zw 1
by Denimara Dias dos Santos, Swayamtrupta Panda, Alberto Rodríguez-Ardila and Murilo Marinello
Physics 2024, 6(1), 177-193; https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010013 - 5 Feb 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 931
Abstract
Constraining the physical conditions of the ionized media in the vicinity of an active supermassive black hole (SMBH) is crucial to understanding how these complex systems operate. Metal emission lines such as iron (Fe) are useful probes to trace the gaseous media’s abundance, [...] Read more.
Constraining the physical conditions of the ionized media in the vicinity of an active supermassive black hole (SMBH) is crucial to understanding how these complex systems operate. Metal emission lines such as iron (Fe) are useful probes to trace the gaseous media’s abundance, activity, and evolution in these accreting systems. Among these, the Feii emission has been the focus of many prior studies to investigate the energetics, kinematics, and composition of the broad-emission line region (BELR) from where these emission lines are produced. In this paper, we present the first simultaneous Feii modeling in the optical and near-infrared (NIR) regions. We use cloudy photoionization code to simulate both spectral regions in the wavelength interval 4000–12,000 Å. We compare our model predictions with the observed line flux ratios for I Zw (Zwicky) 1—a prototypical strong Feii-emitting active galactic nuclei (AGNs). This allows setting constraints on the BLR cloud density and metal content that is optimal for the production of the Feii emission, which can be extended to I Zw 1-like sources by examining a broad parameter space. We demonstrate the salient and distinct features of the Feii pseudo-continuum in the optical and NIR, giving special attention to the effect of micro-turbulence on the intensity of the Feii emission. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasma 2023)
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15 pages, 916 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Optical Monitoring of Broad-Line AGNs (LoTerm AGN): Case Study of NGC 3516
by Dragana Ilić, Luka Č. Popović, Alexander Burenkov, Elena Shablovinskaya, Eugene Malygin, Roman Uklein, Alexei V. Moiseev, Dmitry Oparin, Víctor M. Patiño Álvarez, Vahram Chavushyan, Paola Marziani, Mauro D’Onofrio, Alberto Floris, Andjelka B. Kovačević, Jovana Jovičić, Djordje Miković, Nemanja Rakić, Saša Simić, Sladjana Marčeta Mandić, Stefano Ciroi, Amelia Vietri, Luca Crepaldi and Ascensión del Olmoadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Physics 2024, 6(1), 31-45; https://doi.org/10.3390/physics6010003 - 27 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1708
Abstract
Properties of the broad line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are commonly used to estimate the mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) that powers an AGN. However, the understanding of the physics behind the BLR remains incomplete. The AGNs exhibit [...] Read more.
Properties of the broad line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are commonly used to estimate the mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) that powers an AGN. However, the understanding of the physics behind the BLR remains incomplete. The AGNs exhibit strong optical variability, observed in the change of the profiles and fluxes of broad emission lines. Utilizing this variability provides an opportunity to constrain the physics of the BLR, and understand the interplay of the BLR with SMBH and surrounding regions. Here, we present the long-term monitoring campaign of a sample of the known broad-line AGNs (identified as LoTerm AGN). The aim of this study is to show the importance of sustained and dedicated campaigns that continually collect spectroscopic data of the known AGNs over extended timescales, providing unique insight into the origin and structure of the BLR. LoTerm AGN is a collaborative network of seven moderate-size telescopes equipped for spectroscopy. We focus on the recent spectral data of the known changing-look AGN, NGC 3516. Specifically, we examine the broad hydrogen Balmer Hα line observed in the period 2020–2023, demonstrating that this AGN remains active with the BLR signatures observed in the spectra. No significant change in the broad line profile of Hα line is observed during this recent period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasma 2023)
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20 pages, 1072 KiB  
Article
Optical Properties of Two Complementary Samples of Intermediate Seyfert Galaxies
by Benedetta Dalla Barba, Marco Berton, Luigi Foschini, Giovanni La Mura, Amelia Vietri and Stefano Ciroi
Physics 2023, 5(4), 1061-1080; https://doi.org/10.3390/physics5040069 - 14 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
We present first results of the analysis of optical spectra of two complementary samples of Seyfert galaxies (Seyferts). The first sample was extracted from a selection of the 4th Fermi Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope (4FGL) catalog and consists of 11 γ-ray-emitting jetted [...] Read more.
We present first results of the analysis of optical spectra of two complementary samples of Seyfert galaxies (Seyferts). The first sample was extracted from a selection of the 4th Fermi Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope (4FGL) catalog and consists of 11 γ-ray-emitting jetted Seyfert galaxies. The second one was extracted from the Swift-BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS) and is composed of 38 hard-X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN). These two samples are complementary, with the former being expected to have smaller viewing angles, while the latter may include objects with larger viewing angles. We measured emission-line ratios to investigate whether the behavior of these Seyferts can be explained in terms of obscuration, as suggested by the Unified Model (UM) of AGN, or if there are intrinsic differences due to the presence of jets or outflows, or due to evolution. We found no indications of intrinsic differences. The UM remains the most plausible interpretation for these classes of objects, even if some results can be challenging for this model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasma 2023)
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