OV] $\lambda\lambda$1213.8,1218.3 emission from extended nebulae around quasars: contamination of Ly$\alpha$ and a new diagnostic for AGN activity in Ly$\alpha$-emitters

Abstract

We investigate the potential for the emission lines OV] $\lambda\lambda$1213.8,1218.3 and HeII $\lambda$1215.1 to contaminate flux measurements of Ly$\alpha$ $\lambda$1215.7 in the extended nebulae of quasars. We have computed a grid of photoionization models with a substantial range in the slope of the ionizing powerlaw (-1.5 $<$ $\alpha$ $<$ -0.5), gas metallicity (0.01 $<$ $Z/Z_{\odot}$ $<$ 3.0), gas density (1 $<$ $n_H$ $<$ 10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$), and ionization parameter (10$^{-5}$ $<$ U $<$ 1.0). We find the contribution from HeII $\lambda$1215.1 to be negligible, i.e., $<$ 0.1 of Ly$\alpha$ flux, across our entire model grid. The contribution from OV] $\lambda\lambda$1213.8,1218.3 is generally negligible when U is low (<10$^{-3}$) and/or when the gas metallicity is low ($Z/Z_{\odot}$ < 0.1). However, at higher values of U and Z we find that OV] can significantly contaminate Ly$\alpha$, in some circumstances accounting for more than half the total flux of the Ly$\alpha$+HeII+OV] blend. We also provide means to estimate the fluxes of OV] $\lambda\lambda$1213.8,1218.3 and HeII $\lambda$1215.1 by extrapolating from other lines. We estimate the fluxes of OV] and HeII for a sample of 107 Type 2 active galaxies at z$>$2, and find evidence for significant (>10\%) contamination of Ly$\alpha$ fluxes in the majority of cases (84\%). We also discuss prospects for using OV] $\lambda\lambda$1213.8,1218.3 as a diagnostic for the presence of AGN activity in high-z Ly$\alpha$ emitters, and caution that the presence of significant OV] emission could impact the apparent kinematics of Ly$\alpha$, potentially mimicking the presence of high-velocity gas outflows.