Abstract
The profiles of the broad Balmer emission lines in Seyfert galaxies are often asymmetrical in the sense that the red wing extends further than the blue wing1. Explanations of the observed asymmetry have involved relativistic effects2,3, infalling clouds immersed in an absorbing medium4, and radially expanding clouds that are bright only on the side facing the ionizing source4,5. In all these hypotheses, the fact that only some galaxies have asymmetric emission lines was not considered important. Here I present evidence that both the degree of asymmetry and the difference between Hα and Hβ profiles are correlated with the overall line width. I also argue that current evidence is most compatible with an expanding system of optically thick clouds, in which the thickest clouds are moving fastest.
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Lawrence, A. Asymmetric Balmer line profiles in Seyfert galaxies. Nature 295, 509–510 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/295509a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/295509a0
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