Abstract
Much debate surrounds the nature of Broad Absorption Line Quasi-Stellar
Objects (BALQSOs). It has been suggested that this quasar subclass,
which shows distinctive blueshifted absorption troughs indicative a
high-velocity outflow, is found only among quasars with the highest
accretion rates. We have estimated black hole masses and accretion rates
in 5190 quasars from the 2nd Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey. These 5190 quasars, of which 349 are BALQSOs, have been selected
from a narrow redshift range near z = 1.5, for which both Mg II and C IV
emission lines are present in the SDSS spectral range. We answer the
question, with overwhelming statistics, of whether or not BALQSOs are
really stuck in overdrive.
This research is funded by Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, NASA
Grant #NGT-40102 and by Wyoming NASA EPSCoR NASA Grant #NCC5-578.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society |
| Volume | 36 |
| ISSN | 0002-7537 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |