The Prevalence of Narrow Optical Fe II Emission Lines in Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

From detailed spectral analysis of a large sample of low-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we demonstrate---statistically for the first time---that narrow optical Fe II emission lines, both permitted and forbidden, are prevalent in type 1 AGNs. Remarkably, these optical lines are completely absent in type 2 AGNs, across a wide luminosity range, from Seyfert 2 galaxies to type 2 quasars. We suggest that the narrow FeII-emitting gas is confined to a disk-like geometry in the innermost regions of the narrow-line region on physical scales smaller than the obscuring torus.