HE 0141-3932: A bright QSO with an unusual emission line spectrum and associated absorption

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 435, Number 1, May III 2005


Page(s)		17 - 27
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20041655

A&A 435, 17-27 (2005)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20041655

HE 0141-3932 : A bright QSO with an unusual emission line spectrum and associated absorption

D. Reimers¹, E. Janknecht¹, C. Fechner¹, I. I. Agafonova², S. A. Levshakov² and S. Lopez³

¹ Hamburger Sternwarte, Universität Hamburg, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
² Department of Theoretical Astrophysics, Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia
e-mail: lev@astro.ioffe.rssi.ru
³ Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago, Chile

(Received 13 July 2004 / Accepted 19 January 2005)

Abstract
HE 0141-3932 ( $z_{\rm em}\,$ = 1.80) is a bright blue radio-quite quasar with an unusually weak Ly $\alpha$ emission line. Large redshift differences ( $\Delta z = 0.05$ ) are observed between high ionization and low ionization emission lines. Absorption systems identified at $z_{\rm abs}\,$ = 1.78, 1.71, and 1.68 show mild oversolar metallicities ( $Z \approx 1{-}2~Z_\odot$ ) and can be attributed to the associated gas clouds ejected from the circumnuclear region. The joint analysis of the emission and absorption lines leads to the conclusion that this quasar is seen almost pole-on. Its apparent luminosity may be Doppler boosted by $\sim$ 10 times. The absorbing gas shows a high abundance of Fe, Mg and Al ( $\rm [Fe, Mg, Al/C] \simeq 0.15\pm0.10$ ) along with underabundance of N ( $\rm [N/C] \leq -0.5$ ). This abundance pattern is at variance with current chemical evolution models of QSOs predicting $\rm [N/C] \gtrsim 0$ and $\rm [Fe/C] <0$ at $Z \sim Z_\odot$ .

Key words: cosmology: observations -- line: formation -- line: profiles -- galaxies: abundances -- quasars: absorption lines -- quasars: individual: HE 0141-3932

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