VizieR Online Data Catalog: MgII line vs 3000Å continuum analysis in 68 QSOs (Zhu+, 2017)

We investigate the relationship between the MgIIλ2798 emission line and the 3000Å continuum variations using a sample of 68 intermediate-redshift (z~0.65-1.50) broad-line quasars spanning a bolometric luminosity range of 44.49erg/s<=logL_bol<=46.31erg/s (Eddington ratio from ~0.026 to 0.862). This sample is constructed from SDSS-DR7Q and BOSS-DR12Q, each with at least two spectroscopic epochs in SDSS-I/II/III surveys. In addition, we adopt the following signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) selection criteria: (a) for MgII and the 3000Å continuum, S/N>=10; and (b) for narrow lines, S/N>=5. All our quasar spectra are recalibrated based on the assumption of constant narrow emission- line fluxes. In an analysis of spectrum-to-spectrum variations, we find a fairly close correlation (Spearman {rho}=0.593) between the variations in broad MgII and in the continuum. This is consistent with the idea that MgII is varying in response to the continuum emission variations. Adopting the modified weighted least squares regression method, we statistically constrain the slopes (i.e., the responsivity α of the broad MgII) between the variations in both components for the sources in different luminosity bins after eliminating intrinsic biases introduced by the rescaling process itself. It is shown that the responsivity is quite small (average {bar}α~0.464) and anti- correlates with the quasar luminosity. Our results indicate that high signal- to-noise flux measurements are required to robustly detect the intrinsic variability and the time lag of the MgII line.

(2 data files).