Discovery of a variable broad absorption line in the BL Lac object PKS B0138-097  

作　　者：Shao-Hua Zhang Hui-Yuan Wang Hong-Yan Zhou Ting-Gui Wang Peng Jiang 

机构地区：[1]Key Laboratory for Researches in Galaxies and Cosmology, Department of Astronomy, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230026,China [2]Polar Research Institute of China, Jinqiao Rd. 451, Shanghai 200136, China

出　　处：《Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics》2011年第10期1163-1170,共8页天文和天体物理学研究（英文版）

基　　金：Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 10973012 and 11033007);the National Basic Research Program of China (973 program; Grant Nos.2007CB815405 and 2009CB824800)

摘　　要：We report the discovery of a broad absorption line （BAL） of - 10^4 km s^-1 in width in the previously known BL Lac object PKS 0138-097, which we tentatively identified as an Mg II BAL. This is the first detection of a BAL, which is sometimes seen in powerful quasars with high accretion rates, in a BL Lac object. The BAL was clearly detected in its spectra spanning two epochs at a high luminosity state taken in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）, while it disappeared in three SDSS spectra taken at a low luminosity state. The BAL and its variability pattern were also found in its historical multi-epoch spectra in the literature, but have been overlooked previously. In its high resolution radio maps, PKS 0138-097 shows a core plus a one- sided parsec-scale jet. The BAL variability can be interpreted as follows： The optical emission is dominated by the core in a high state and by the jet in a low state and the BAL material is located between the core and jet so that the BAL appears only when the core is shining. Our discovery suggests that outflows may also be produced in active galactic nuclei at a low accreting state.We report the discovery of a broad absorption line （BAL） of - 10^4 km s^-1 in width in the previously known BL Lac object PKS 0138-097, which we tentatively identified as an Mg II BAL. This is the first detection of a BAL, which is sometimes seen in powerful quasars with high accretion rates, in a BL Lac object. The BAL was clearly detected in its spectra spanning two epochs at a high luminosity state taken in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey （SDSS）, while it disappeared in three SDSS spectra taken at a low luminosity state. The BAL and its variability pattern were also found in its historical multi-epoch spectra in the literature, but have been overlooked previously. In its high resolution radio maps, PKS 0138-097 shows a core plus a one- sided parsec-scale jet. The BAL variability can be interpreted as follows： The optical emission is dominated by the core in a high state and by the jet in a low state and the BAL material is located between the core and jet so that the BAL appears only when the core is shining. Our discovery suggests that outflows may also be produced in active galactic nuclei at a low accreting state.

关 键 词：GALAXIES active -- galaxies absorption lines -- BL Lacertae objects individual （PKS 0138-097） 

分 类 号：P157.7[天文地球—天文学] TP273[自动化与计算机技术—检测技术与自动化装置]