An Intrinsic Baldwin Effect in the Hβ Broad Emission Line in the Spectrum of NGC 5548

Abstract

We investigate the possibility of an intrinsic Baldwin Effect (i.e., nonlinear emission-line response to continuum variations) in the broad Hβ emission line of the active galaxy NGC 5548 using cross-correlation techniques to remove light travel-time effects from the data. We find a nonlinear relationship between the Hβ emission line and continuum fluxes that is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We suggest that similar analysis of multiple lines might provide a useful diagnostic of physical conditions in the broad-line region.