First Direct Comparison of High and Low Ionization Line Kinematics in Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

We present first results of a comparison of emission line shift properties for the high (HILs) and low (LILs) ionization lines in 43 low- redshift quasars. We identify a core sample of C IV λ1549 and Hβ profiles with a wide distribution of red- and blueshifts (<= 1000 km s^-1^). We also identify two tails in this distribution: one with large Hβ redshifts (>= 2000 km s^-1^) and another with large C IV blueshifts (>= 1500 km s^-1^). The tails are mutually exclusive. All objects with extreme Hβ redshift are radio loud, and all objects with extreme C IV blueshift are radio quiet. The core samples of smaller shifts can be most simply divided into: (1) Hβ-a red- shifted radio- loud population (related to the tail) and a radio-quiet population with mean shift near zero, and (2) C IV-a blueshifted radio-quiet population (related to the tail) and a radio-loud population with mean shift near zero. The results suggest fundamentally different kinematics for the HILs and LILs. They also suggest very different kinematics for radio-loud and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei. They also favor a predominance of radial motion in a large fraction of the sample.