Nitrogen Enriched Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey First Data Release

Abstract

The quasar Q0353-383 has long been known to have extremely strong nitrogen intercombination lines at 1486 and 1750 Angstroms, implying an anomalously high nitrogen abundance of ~15 times solar. A search for similar nitrogen-rich quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey First Data Release catalog has yielded 20 candidates, including four with nitrogen emission as strong or stronger than that seen in Q0353-383. Our results indicate that only about 1 in 1700 of quasars have nitrogen abundances similar to Q0353-383, while up to 1 in 130 may be in the process of extreme nitrogen enrichment.