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Iskra Strateva (Princeton University)
Although accretion disks are a theoretically appealing model for the geometry and dynamics of the gas in the vicinity of black holes in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), there is little direct observational evidence for their existence. The telltale signature of disk emission in AGN -- double peaked emission lines -- have so far been found in only two dozen cases in the optical (Eracleous 1999). We have selected a large subsample (~100) of double-peaked broad emission line AGN from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) from over 4000 AGN with z<0.4. By comparing the properties of those double-peaked AGN with those of the full sample, we hope to isolate the defining characteristics of disk-emitters and ultimately answer the question: If all AGN have disks, why don't they all show double-peaked disk emission lines?
Funding for the SDSS is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, NASA, NSF, DoE, Monbukagakusho, the Max Planck Society and the member institutions. The SDSS web site is http://www.sdss.org/.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.