The Spectrum of the FeLoBAL Quasar FBQS 1214+2803: A Resonance-Scattering Interpretation

Abstract

The usual interpetation of the spectrum of a BAL QSO is that a broad-band continuum from the central engine plus broad emission lines from a surrounding region (the BELR) emerges from near the center of the QSO, and broad absorption lines are superimposed in a separate outlying region (the BALR). For FBQS 1214+2803, designated as an FeLoBAL QSO because its spectrum contains numerous absorption features from excited states of Fe II, we explore an alternative interpretation based on resonance scattering. In this model line emission and absorption occur in the same line-forming region (the LFR). A resonance-scattering synthetic spectrum computed with the supernova synthetic-spectrum code SYNOW fits the spectrum of FBQS 1214+2802 rather well, so the resonance-scattering model merits further study. Some implications of the model and its possible applicability to other QSOs are briefly discussed.