Double-Peaked Emission Line Profiles as Evidence for Accretion Disks in Active Galactic Nuclei

Iskra Strateva
Princeton University
iskra@astro.princeton.edu

4:15-5:15 Tuesday May 13, 2003

Abstract

Using the first statistically large sample of double-peaked low-ionization line Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and assuming an accretion disk origin for those lines, we can study the the properties of disk emitting AGN and the distribution of disk parameters. After brief review of theoretical models suggested to explain these unique kinematic signatures I will focus on the accretion disk emission model and compare the profile characterizing parameters of the observed and model disks. I will present the properties of the disk emission hosts and argue that a combination of kinematic modeling and multiwavelength photometry and profile variability can be used to place strong constraints on the geometry of the accretion flow in the vicinity of the supermassive central black hole.

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