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      Gemini Long-slit Observations of Luminous Obscured Quasars: Further Evidence for an Upper Limit on the Size of the Narrow-Line Region

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          Abstract

          We examine the spatial extent of the narrow-line regions (NLRs) of a sample of 30 luminous obscured quasars at \(0.4 < z < 0.7\) observed with spatially resolved Gemini-N GMOS long-slit spectroscopy. Using the [OIII]\(\lambda5007\) emission feature, we estimate the size of the NLR using a cosmology-independent measurement: the radius where the surface brightness falls to 10\(^{-15}\) erg s\(^{-1}\) cm\(^{-2}\) arcsec\(^{-2}\). We then explore the effects of atmospheric seeing on NLR size measurements and conclude that direct measurements of the NLR size from observed profiles are too large by 0.1 - 0.2 dex on average, as compared to measurements made to best-fit S\'{e}rsic or Voigt profiles convolved with the seeing. These data, which span a full order of magnitude in IR luminosity (\(\log{(L_{8 \mu \mathrm{m}} / \mathrm{erg\, s}^{-1})} = 44.4 - 45.4\)) also provide strong evidence that there is a flattening of the relationship between NLR size and AGN luminosity at a seeing-corrected size of \(\sim 7\) kpc. The objects in this sample have high luminosities which place them in a previously under-explored portion of the size-luminosity relationship. These results support the existence of a maximal size of the narrow-line region around luminous quasars; beyond this size either there is not enough gas, or the gas is over-ionized and does not produce enough [OIII]\(\lambda5007\) emission.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          07 April 2014
          Article
          10.1088/0004-637X/787/1/65
          1404.1921
          3f2bf423-7f61-40c4-a6d0-7d255011b4e1

          http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

          History
          Custom metadata
          The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 787, Issue 1, article id. 65, 9 pp. (2014)
          10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal
          astro-ph.GA

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