Balmer lines emission region in NGC 3516: Kinematical and physical properties

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 390, Number 2, August I 2002


Page(s)		473 - 480
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20020724

A&A 390, 473-480 (2002)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20020724

Balmer lines emission region in NGC 3516: Kinematical and physical properties

L. C. Popovic¹, E. G. Mediavilla², A. Kubicela¹ and P. Jovanovic¹

¹ Astronomical Observatory and Isaac Newton Institute of Chile, Branch in Yugoslavia, Volgina 7, 11160 Belgrade 74, Serbia, Yugoslavia
² Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias C/ Vía Làctea, s/n 38200 - La Laguna (Tenerife), Spain

(Received 14 January 2002 / Accepted 15 May 2002)

Abstract
We have studied the Balmer line shapes of NGC 3516 in order to find the structure of central Emission Line Region (ELR) and the physical parameters of the emitting plasma. The shapes of these broad emission lines show evidences of a multicomponent origin and also features which could be identified as the peaks of a rotating disc. We have proposed a two component Broad Line Region (BLR) model consisting of an inner Keplerian relativistic disc and an outer structure surrounding the disc which is composed by Broad Line and Narrow Line Regions (BLR and NLR). Adopting a mass of ~ $4 \times 10^{7}~M_\odot$ for the central object we found that the emitting disc is located from 0.004 pc to 0.018 pc. Using a well known method for laboratory plasma diagnostic, the Boltzmann plot, we estimated the electron temperature ( $\approx$ 12 500 K) and electron density (~ 10¹⁵ cm ^-3) of the disc and the surrounding region ( $T_{\rm e}\approx 20\,000$ K and $N_{\rm e}\sim 10^{15}$ cm ^-3).

Key words: galaxies: individual: NGC 3516 -- galaxies: Seyfert -- line: profiles -- accretion, accretion disks

Offprint request: L. C. Popovic, lpopovic@aob.bg.ac.yu

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