Observations of OI and CaII Emission Lines in Quasars: Implications for the Site of FeII Line Emission

Abstract

We present results of the near-infrared (IR) spectroscopy of six quasars whose redshifts range from 0.158 to 1.084. Combined with the satellite ultraviolet data, the relative line strengths of OI 1304, OI 8446, OI 11287, and the near-IR CaII triplet are given. In addition, the corresponding OI line strengths measured in normal Seyfert 1s and narrow-line Seyfert 1s are collected from the literature. These lines are thought to emerge from the same gas as do the FeII lines, so they are good tracers of the FeII emission region within a broad emission line region (BELR) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In order to reveal the physical condition within the relevant emission region, we performed photoionized model calculations and compared them to the observations. It suggests that a rather dense gas with density nH ~ 10^(11.5) cm-3 is present at an outer portion of the BELR, illuminated by the ionizing radiation corresponding to an ionization parameter U ~ 10^(-2.5) and is primarily responsible for the observed OI, CaII, and FeII lines, based on the resemblance of their profiles. The three OI lines are proven to be formed through Ly beta fluorescence and collisional excitation. We also show that the lambda1304 bump typically observed in AGN spectra consists of the comparable contributions of OI and SiII multiplets, and we discuss the origin of such a strong SiII emission. The results are interpreted in the context of the locally optimally emitting cloud (LOC) scenario to find the plausible gas distribution within the BELR as a function of distance from the central source and density.

Accepted for publication in ApJ; some rewordings made

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