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K. Verner (GSFC/NASA and CUA)
No matter how far we discovered QSOs, the Fe II is still present in their spectra. Recently QSOs at z~6.4 that show strong Fe II emission have been found. Fe II studies are attractive due to their potential to give a clue to understanding of host galaxies and star formation in quasars. Yet the large contribution of Fe II to QSOs spectra makes these studies unavoidable. This presentation summarizes our recent developments in applying the most sophisticated Fe II ion model (830 levels) to explain the large variations in the Fe II spectra in QSOs. The comparisons between the model and the data (IUE, HST and SDSS observations) revealed abundance, hydrogen density and photoionizing flux in quasar environment. Surprisingly the dynamical properties of QSOs also can be assessed through the Fe II spectra in UV. Our analysis suggests that the Fe has solar abundance in low-z QSOs. To check whether there is a change in Fe abundance at high redshifts, the new observations are essential.
Suggested reading: Verner et al., 2003, ApJL, 592, 59 Verner & Peterson, 2004, ApJL, 608, 85 Verner et al., 2004, ApJ, 611, 780 EV research and travel to AAS is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF 0206150) program.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.