Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Fourteen Low-Redshift Quasars

Authors

• Rajib Ganguly, University of Wyoming, Laramie
• Michael S. Brotherton, University of Wyoming, Laramie
• Nahum Arav, University of Colorado, BoulderFollow
• Sara R. Heap, Laboratory of Astronomy and Solar Physics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
• Lutz Wisotzki, Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam, Germany
• Thomas L. Aldcroft, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA
• Danielle Alloin, ESO, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Chile
• Ehud Behar, Technion, IsraelFollow
• Gabriela Canalizo, University of California - Riverside
• D. Michael Crenshaw, Georgia State UniversityFollow
• Martijn de Kool, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA), Mount Stomlo Observatory, Cotter Road, Australia
• Kenneth Chambers, Institute for Astronomy, Honolulu, HI
• Gerald Cecil, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
• Eleni Chatzichristou, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics - National Observatory of Athens, I. Metaxa & Vas. Pavlou, Palea Penteli, Athens Greece
• John Everett, Canadian Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Jack R. Gabel, University of ColoradoFollow
• C. Martin Gaskell, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Emmanuel Galliano, University of California - Davis
• Richard F. Green, Large Binocular Telescope Observatory, Tucson, AZ
• Patrick B. Hall, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Dean C. Hines, Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado
• Vesa T. Junkkarinen, University of California - San Diego
• Jelle S. Kaastra, SRON National Institute for Space ResearchFollow
• Mary Elizabeth Kaiser, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
• Demosthenes Kazanas, Laboratory of Astronomy and Solar Physics, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
• Arieh Konigl, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Enrico Fermi Institute, University of Chicago, Illinois
• Kirk T. Korista, Western Michigan UniversityFollow
• Gerard A. Kriss, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MDFollow
• Ari Laor, Technion, Haifa, IsraelFollow
• Karen M. Leighly, University of Oklahoma - Norman
• Smita Mathur, Ohio State UniversityFollow
• Patrick Ogle, Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
• Daniel Ogle, University of Nevada - Las Vegas
• Bassem Sabra, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Notre Dame University, Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon
• Ran Sivron, Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas
• Stephanie A. Snedden, Apache Point Observatory, Sunspot, NMFollow
• Randal Telfer, Orbital Sciences
• Marianne Vestergaard, University of ArizonaFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

10-17-2006

Comments

Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal (projected vol 133); online at astro-ph/0610435. Copyright 2006. Permission to use.

Abstract

We present low-resolution ultraviolet spectra of 14 low redshift (z _em < 0.8) quasars observed with HST/STIS as part of a Snap project to understand the relationship between quasar outflows and luminosity. By design, all observations cover the C IV emission line. Nine of the quasars are from the Hamburg-ESO catalog, three are from the Palomar-Green catalog, and one is from the Parkes catalog. The sample contains a few interesting quasars including two broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (HE 0143- 3535, HE0436-2614), one quasar with a mini-BAL (HE 1105-0746), and one quasar with associated narrow absorption (HE 0409-5004). These BAL quasars are among the brightest known (though not the most luminous) since they lie at z _em< 0.8. We compare the properties of these BAL quasars to the z _em < 0.5 Palomar-Green and z _em> 1.4 Large Bright Quasar samples. By design, our objects sample luminosities in between these two surveys, and our four absorbed objects are consistent with the υ ∼L ^0.62 relation derived by Laor & Brandt (2002). Another quasar, HE0441-2826, contains extremely weak emission lines and our spectrum is consistent with a simple power- law continuum. The quasar is radio-loud, but has a steep spectral index and a lobe- dominated morphology, which argues against it being a blazar. The unusual spectrum of this quasar resembles the spectra of the quasars PG1407+265, SDSS J1136+0242, and PKS 1004+13 for which several possible explanations have been entertained.