Universal spectral shape of high accretion rate AGN

¹ Copernicus Astronomical Center, Bartycka 18, 00-716 Warsaw, Poland
² Observatoire de Paris-Meudon, DAEC, Meudon, France

Corresponding author: B. Czerny, bcz@camk.edu.pl

Received: 21 March 2003
Accepted: 14 August 2003

Abstract

The spectra of quasars and NLS1 galaxies show surprising similarity in their spectral shape. They seem to scale only with the accretion rate. This is in contradiction with the simple expectations from the standard disk model which predicts lower disk temperature for higher black hole mass. Here we consider two mechanisms modifying the disk spectrum: the irradiation of the outer disk due to the scattering of the flux by the extended ionized medium (warm absorber) and the development of the warm Comptonizing disk skin under the effect of the radiation pressure instability. Those two mechanisms seem to lead to a spectrum which indeed roughly scales, as observed, only with the accretion rate. The scenario applies only to objects with relatively high Eddington ratio for which disk evaporation is inefficient.