UV spectral diagnostics for low redshift quasars: estimating physical conditions and radius of the Broad Line Region

The UV spectral range (1100 - 3000 A) contains the strongest resonance lines observed in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Analysis of UV line intensity ratios and profile shapes in quasar spectra provide diagnostics of physical and dynamical conditions in the broad line emitting region. This paper discusses properties of UV lines in type-1 AGN spectra, and how they lead an estimate of ionizing photon flux, chemical abundances, radius of the broad line emitting region and central black hole mass. These estimates are meaningfully contextualised through the 4D "eigenvector-1" (4DE1) formalism.
Contributed paper presented at the ESO/NUVA/IAG Workshop on Challenges in UV Astronomy ESO, Garching, 7-11 October 2013. Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science