Quasar main sequence in the UV plane

Abstract

Active galaxies form a clear pattern in the optical plane showing the correlation between the Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) of the Hβ line and the ratio of the Equivalent Width (EW) of the optical FeII emission and the EW(Hβ). This pattern is frequently refereed to as the quasar main sequence. In this paper we study the UV plane showing FWHM of the MgII line against the ratio of EW of UV FeII emission to EW(MgII). We show that the UV plane trends are different, with the underlying strong correlation between FWHM(MgII) and EW(MgII). This correlation is entirely driven by the choice of the continuum used to measure EW(MgII). If we correct for the strong curvature in the UV continuum related to the character of emission expected from accretion disk, the behavior of the FWHM vs. EW for MgII becomes similar to the behaviour of Hβ. Such a similarity is expected since both lines belong to the Low Ionization group of emission lines and come from a similar region. Such a similarity and weak coupling between FWHM and EW of the corresponding line is then also consistent with the Broad Line Region model based on the presence of dust in the accretion disk atmosphere.