SUMMARY OF PROPOSAL 72156

PROF. WILLIAM NIELSEN BRANDT
NIEL@ASTRO.PSU.EDU

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
525 DAVEY LAB
UNIVERSITY PARK
PA USA 16802
Tel: (814) 865-0418 Fax: (814) 863-3399
Medium: CD ROM
Subject: AGN

RESOLVING THE NATURE OF SOFT X-RAY WEAK QUASARS: A SYSTEMATIC ASCA STUDY OF A COMPLETE AND WELL-DEFINED SAMPLE


ABSTRACT

We propose 6 ASCA observations designed to complete a study of a well-defined sample of 9 `soft X-ray weak' PG quasars. These quasars are anomalously faint below 2 keV, and the physical reason for their soft X-ray weakness is not yet established. Our ASCA observation of the soft X-ray weak quasar PG 1411+442 has revealed heavy intrinsic X-ray absorption, and the proposed ASCA observations will allow us to test if absorption is the universal cause of soft X-ray weak quasars. Four of our targets are known to have fascinating intrinsic UV absorption, and we will explore relations between the properties of the UV and X-ray absorption. In particular, we will examine whether soft X-ray weak quasars are the transitional objects between associated `warm' absorber systems and BALQSOs.

CO-INVESTIGATORS
CO-I NAME INSTITUTE COUNTRY
ARI LAORTECHNIONISRAEL
MARTIN ELVISSAOUSA
FABRIZIO FIOREOSS. DI ROMAITALY
SMITA MATHURSAOUSA
BEV WILLSU. TEXAS - AUSTINUSA

TARGETS

TARGET NAMEPRIRADECTIMETCOFFGISSIS CNTOBS
1)PG 1535+547
B
234.1583 54.5592
40 ks
N
Y
P
0.02100
1
2)PG 2214+139
C
334.3000 14.2392
40 ks
N
Y
P
0.02700
1
3)PG 1126-041
C
172.3208 -4.4022
40 ks
N
Y
P
0.02000
1
4)PG 2112+059
C
318.7208 6.1286
40 ks
N
Y
P
0.01800
1
5)PG 1011-040
C
153.5875 -4.3106
40 ks
N
Y
P
0.01900
1