Emission Line Diagnostics of Accretion Flows in Weak-Line Radio Galaxies

Abstract

In recent surveys of Radio-loud AGN, a new sub-class of objects, known as Weak-Line Radio Galaxies (WLRGs) has emerged. These radio galaxies have only weak, low-ionization optical emission lines. In the X-ray band, these objects are much fainter and have flatter spectra than broad-line and narrow-line radio galaxies. In these respects, WLRGs are reminiscent of Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Regions (LINERs). We have begun a multi-wavelength study of WLRGs to better understand their possible connection to LINERs and the structure of the accretion flow in both these systems. Here, we present new optical spectra of a sample of WLRGs. We find that 81% of the objects have optical emission-line properties that are similar to LINERs, indicating that these two classes of AGN may be related. Future high resolution X-ray observations of WLRGs will be critical in determining the true nature of the accretion flow in these objects.

4 pages, 4 figures, in "X-ray Emission from Accretion onto Black Holes", JHU/LHEA Workshop, June 20-23,2001