Redshifted Emission Lines Research Articles

Correlated modulation between the redshifted Fe Kαline and the continuum emission in NGC 3783

Aims. It has been suggested that X-ray observations of rapidly variable Seyfert galaxies may hold the key to probe the gas orbital motions in the innermost regions of accretion discs around black holes and, thus, trace flow patterns under the effect of the hole strong gravitational field. Methods. We explore this possibility by re-analyzing the multiple XMM-Newton observations of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 3783. A detailed time-resolved spectral analysis is performed down to the shortest possible time-scales (few ks) using excess maps and cross-correlating light curves in different energy bands. Results. In addition to a constant core of the Fe Kα line, we detected a variable and redshifted Fe Kα emission feature between 5.3-6.1 keV. The line exhibits a modulation on a time-scale of ∼27 ks that is similar to, and in phase with, a modulation of the 0.3-10 keV source continuum. The two components show a good correlation. Conclusions. The time-scale of the correlated variability of the redshifted Fe line and continuum agrees with the local dynamical time-scale of the accretion disc at ∼10 rg around a black hole with the optical reverberation mass ∼10 7 M ⊙ . Given the shape of the redshifted line emission and the overall X-ray variability pattern, the line is likely to arise from the relativistic region near the black hole, although the source of the few cycles of coherent variation remains unclear.

Resolved spectroscopy of a gravitationally lensed L* Lyman-break galaxy at z∼ 5

We exploit the gravitational potential of a massive, rich cluster at z= 0.77 to study the internal properties of a gravitationally lensed galaxy at z= 4.88 . Using high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope imaging together with optical (VIMOS) and near-infrared (SINFONI) integral field spectroscopy, we have studied the rest-frame ultraviolet and optical properties of the lensed galaxy seen through the cluster RCS0224−002. Using a detailed gravitational lens model of the cluster, we reconstruct the source-frame morphology on 200 pc scales and find an ~L* Lyman-break galaxy with an intrinsic size of only 2.0 × 0.8 kpc , a velocity gradient of ≲60 km s^(−1) and an implied dynamical mass of 1.0 × 10^(10) M_⊙ within 2 kpc. We infer an integrated star formation rate of just 12 ± 2 M_⊙ yr^(−1) from the intrinsic [O ii]λ3727 emission-line flux. The Lyα emission appears redshifted by +200 ± 40 km s^(−1) with respect to the [O ii] emission. The Lyα is also significantly more extended than the nebular emission, extending over 11.9 × 2.4 kpc. Over this area, the Lyα centroid varies by less than 10 km s^(−1) . We model the asymmetric Lyα emission with an underlying Gaussian profile with an absorber in the blue wing and find that the underlying Lyα emission-line centroid is in excellent agreement with the [O ii] emission-line redshift. By examining the spatially resolved structure of the [O ii] and Lyα emission lines, we investigate the nature of this system. The model for local starburst galaxies suggested by Mas-Hesse et al. provides a good description of our data, and suggests that the galaxy is surrounded by a galactic-scale bipolar outflow which has recently bursted out of the system. The outflow, which appears to be currently located ≳30 kpc from the galaxy, is escaping at a speed of upto ~500 km s^(−1) . Although the mass of the outflow is uncertain, the geometry and velocity of the outflow suggests that the ejected material is travelling far faster than escape velocity and will travel more than 1 Mpc (comoving) before eventually stalling.

The onset of General Relativity: gravitationally redshifted emission lines

AbstractWe study and quantify gravitational redshift by means of relativistic ray tracing simulations of emission lines. The emitter model is based on thin, Keplerian rotating rings in the equatorial plane of a rotating black hole. Emission lines are characterised by a generalized fully relativistic Doppler factor or redshift associated with the line core. Two modes of gravitational redshift, shift and distortion, become stronger with the emitting region closer to the Kerr black hole. Shifts of the line cores reveal an effect at levels of 0.0015 to 60% at gravitational radii ranging from 105 to 2. The corresponding Doppler factors range from 0.999985 to 0.4048. Line shape distortion by strong gravity, i.e. very skewed and asymmetric lines occur at radii smaller than roughly ten gravitational radii. Gravitational redshift decreases with distance to the black hole but remains finite due to the asymptotical flatness of black hole space–time. The onset of gravitational redshift can be tested observationally with sufficient spectral resolution. Assuming a resolving power of ∼100000, yielding a resolution of ≈0.1 Å for optical and near‐infrared broad emission lines, the gravitational redshift can be probed out to approximately 75000 gravitational radii. In general, gravitational redshift is an indicator of black hole mass and spin as well as for the inclination angle of the emitter, e.g. an accretion disk. We suggest to do multi‐wavelength observations because all redshifted features should point towards the same central mass. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Multi-wavelength properties of the high-energy bright Seyfert 1 galaxy IGR J18027-1455

A new sample of hard X-ray sources in the Galactic Plane is being revealed by the regular observations performed by the INTEGRAL satellite. The full characterization of these sources is mandatory to understand the hard X-ray sky. Here we report new multifrequency radio, infrared and optical observations of the source IGR J18027-1455, as well as a multi-wavelength study from radio to hard X-rays. The radio counterpart of IGR J18027-1455 is not resolved at any observing frequency. The radio flux density is well fitted by a simple power law with a spectral index alpha=-0.75+/-0.02. This value is typical of optically thin non-thermal synchrotron emission originated in a jet. The NIR and optical spectra show redshifted emission lines with z=0.034, and a broad Halpha line profile with FWHM ~3400 km/s. This suggests an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) of type 1 as the optical counterpart of IGR J18027-1455. We confirm the Seyfert 1 nature of the source, which is intrinsically bright at high energies both in absolute terms and when scaled to a normalized 6 cm luminosity. Finally, comparing its X-ray luminosity with isotropic indicators, we find that the source is Compton thin and AGN dominated. This indicates that INTEGRAL might have just seen the tip of the iceberg, and several tens of such sources should be unveiled during the course of its lifetime.

Direct Measurements of the Stellar Continua and Balmer/4000 A Breaks of Redz> 2 Galaxies: Redshifts and Improved Constraints on Stellar Populations

We use near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy obtained with the GNIRS on Gemini, NIRSPEC on the Keck, and ISAAC on the VLT to study the rest-frame optical continua of three distant red galaxies (with Js - Ks > 2.3) at z > 2. All three galaxy spectra show the Balmer/4000 ? break in the rest-frame optical. The spectra allow us to determine spectroscopic redshifts from the continuum with an estimated accuracy of ?z/(1 + z) ~ 0.001-0.04. These redshifts agree well with the emission-line redshifts for the two galaxies with H? emission. This technique is particularly important for galaxies that are faint in the rest-frame UV, as they are underrepresented in high-redshift samples selected in optical surveys and are too faint for optical spectroscopy. Furthermore, we use the break, continuum shape, and equivalent width of H?, together with evolutionary synthesis models, to constrain the age, star formation timescale, dust content, stellar mass, and star formation rate of the galaxies. Inclusion of the NIR spectra in the stellar population fits greatly reduces the range of possible solutions for stellar population properties. We find that the stellar populations differ greatly among the three galaxies, ranging from a young dusty starburst with a small break and strong emission lines to an evolved galaxy with a strong break and no detected line emission. The dusty starburst galaxy has an age of 0.3 Gyr and a stellar mass of 1 ? 1011 M?. The spectra of the two most evolved galaxies imply ages of 1.3-1.4 Gyr and stellar masses of 4 ? 1011 M?. This large range of properties strengthens our previous, more uncertain results from broadband photometry. Larger samples are required to determine the relative frequency of dusty starbursts and (nearly) passively evolving galaxies at z ~ 2.5.

Outflowing material in the compact steep-spectrum source quasar 3C 48: evidence of jet-cloud interaction?

We report on the detection of a z abs = 0.3654 associated absorption-line system in the ultraviolet spectrum of the compact steep-spectrum source (CSS) quasar 3C 48. The absorbing material is blueshifted with respect to the quasar emission-line redshift, z em = 0.3700, suggesting an outflow velocity of ∼1000 km s -1 . We detect absorption lines over a range of ionization states from Lyβ, Lyγ, C iv, N iv, S vi to O vi and possibly O iv and Ne VIII. The kinematical properties of the absorption-line system are similar to the blueshifted emission-line gas seen in [O III] A5007, which is believed to have interacted with the radio jet. We study the properties of the absorbing material using CLOUDY and find that photoionization models with solar abundance ratios (with overall metallicity in the range 0.1 ≤ Z/Z ○. ≤ 1.3) are enough to explain the observed column densities of all the species except Ne VIII, detection of which requires confirmation. Because the cooling and recombination time for the gas is ∼10 5 yr, the consistency with the photoionization models suggests that any possible interaction of absorbing material with the jet must have taken place before ∼10 5 yr. The abundance ratio of nitrogen to carbon is close to solar values, unlike in the case of most quasars, especially at high redshifts, which have supersolar values. We observed 3C 48 with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to search for redshifted 21-cm HI absorption. We did not detect any significant features in our spectra and estimate the 3σ upper limit to the optical depth to be in the range 0.001-0.003. However, due to the diffuse nature of the radio source, optical depths as high as 0.1 towards individual knots or compact components cannot be ruled out.

Cosmic Filaments in Superclusters

Large-scale structure calculations show that modest overdensity filaments will connect clusters of galaxies and these filaments are reservoirs of baryons, mainly in gaseous form. To determine whether such filaments exist, we have examined the UV absorption line properties of three AGNs projected behind possible filaments in superclusters of galaxies; the AGNs lie within 3 Mpc of the centerlines of loci connecting clusters. All three lines of sight show absorption in Ly\alpha, Ly\beta, or/and OVI at redshifts within about 1300 km/s of the nearby galaxy clusters that would define the closest filaments. For one AGN, the absorption line redshifts are close to the emission line redshift of the AGN, so we cannot rule out self-absorption for this object. These absorption line associations with superclusters are unlikely to have occurred by chance, a result consistent with the presence of cosmic filaments within superclusters.

The metal absorption systems of the QSO 0103-260 and the galaxy redshift distribution in the FORS Deep Field

Using the Uves echelle spectrograph at the ESO VLT, we observed the absorption line spectrum of the QSO 0103-260 in the Fors Deep Field. In addition to the expected Ly forest lines, we detected at least 16 metal absorp- tion systems with highly dierent ionization levels in the observed spectral range. The redshifts of the metal absorption systems are strongly correlated with the redshift distribution of the high- z galaxies in the Fors Deep Field and with the strength (but not the number density) of the Ly forest lines. Both the metal systems and the galaxies show clustering at least up to the QSO emission line redshift of 3.365, but only few of these galaxy accumulations seem to form bound systems.

Disentangling microlensing and differential extinction in the double QSO HE 0512–3329

We present the first separate spectra of both components of the small-separation double QSO HE0512-3329 obtained with HST/STIS in the optical and near UV. The similarities especially of the emission line profiles and redshifts strongly suggest that this system really consists of two lensed images of one and the same source. The emission line flux ratios are assumed to be unaffected by microlensing and are used to study the differential extinction effects caused by the lensing galaxy. Fits of empirical laws show that the extinction properties seem to be different on both lines of sight. With our new results, HE0512-3329 becomes one of the few extragalactic systems which show the 2175 AA absorption feature, although the detection is only marginal. We then correct the continuum flux ratio for extinction to obtain the differential microlensing signal. Since this may still be significantly affected by variability and time-delay effects, no detailled analysis of the microlensing is possible at the moment. This is the first time that differential extinction and microlensing could be separated unambiguously. We show that, at least in HE0512-3329, both effects contribute significantly to the spectral differences and one cannot be analysed without taking into account the other. For lens modelling purposes, the flux ratios can only be used after correcting for both effects.

Keck Spectroscopy of Four Quasi-stellar Object Host Galaxies

We present optical spectroscopy of the host galaxies of four quasi-stellar objects (QSOs)—PG 1444+407, PKS 2349-147, 3C 323.1, and 4C 31.63—having a redshift range 0.1 ≤ z ≤ 0.3. The spectra were obtained at the Keck Observatory with the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph instrument offset 2''-4'' from the nucleus at several position angles in each galaxy. The objects close to 3C 323.1 and PKS 2349-147 have the same redshifts as their nearby QSOs and appear to be the nuclei of galaxies in the final states of merging with the host galaxies. The spectra of the hosts show some variety: PKS 2349-147 and 3C 323.1 show strong off-nuclear emission lines plus stellar absorption features, while the other two show only stellar absorption. PKS 2349-147 and PG 1444+407 have a mixture of old and moderately young stars, while 4C 31.63 has the spectrum of a normal giant elliptical galaxy, which is very rare in our larger sample. The spectrum of the host of 3C 323.1 appears to be dominated by older stars, although our data for it are of lower quality. The redshifts of the off-nucleus emission lines and stellar components are very close to those of the associated QSOs.

The Kinematics and Physical Conditions of the Ionized Gas in Markarian 509. II. STIS Echelle Observations

We present observations of the UV absorption lines in the luminous Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 509, obtained with the medium-resolution (λ/Δλ ≈ 40,000) echelle gratings of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectra reveal the presence of eight kinematic components of absorption in Lyα, C IV, and N V, at radial velocities of -422, -328, -259, -62, -22, +34, +124, and +210 km s-1 with respect to an emission-line redshift of z = 0.03440, seven of which were detected in an earlier Far Ultraviolet Spectrographic Explorer (FUSE) spectrum. The component at -22 km s-1 also shows absorption by Si IV. The covering factor and velocity width of the Si IV lines were lower than those of the higher ionization lines for this component, which is evidence for two separate absorbers at this velocity. We have calculated photoionization models to match the UV column densities in each of these components. Using the predicted O VI column densities, we were able to match the O VI profiles observed in the FUSE spectrum. Based on our results, none of the UV absorbers can produce the X-ray absorption seen in simultaneous Chandra observations; therefore, there must be more highly ionized gas in the radial velocity ranges covered by the UV kinematic components.

Ultraviolet Broad Absorption Features and the Spectral Energy Distribution of the Quasar PG 1351+64

We present a moderate-resolution (~20 km/s) spectrum of the mini broad-absorption-line QSO PG1351+64 between 915-1180 A, obtained with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). Additional spectra at longer wavelengths were also obtained with the HST and ground-based telescopes. Broad absorption is present on the blue wings of CIII 977, Ly-beta, OVI 1032,1038, Ly-alpha, NV 1238,1242, SiIV 1393,1402, and CIV 1548,1450. The absorption profile can be fitted with five components at velocities of ~ -780, -1049, -1629, -1833, and -3054 km/s with respect to the emission-line redshift of z = 0.088. All the absorption components cover a large fraction of the continuum source as well as the broad-line region. The OVI emission feature is very weak, and the OVI/Lyalpha flux ratio is 0.08, one of the lowest among low-redshift active galaxies and QSOs. The UV continuum shows a significant change in slope near 1050 A in the restframe. The steeper continuum shortward of the Lyman limit extrapolates well to the observed weak X-ray flux level. The absorbers' properties are similar to those of high-redshift broad absorption-line QSOs. The derived total column density of the UV absorbers is on the order of 10^21 cm^-2, unlikely to produce significant opacity above 1 keV in the X-ray. Unless there is a separate, high-ionization X-ray absorber, the QSO's weak X-ray flux may be intrinsic. The ionization level of the absorbing components is comparable to that anticipated in the broad-line region, therefore the absorbers may be related to broad-line clouds along the line of sight.

LBQS 0103−2753: A 0[farcs]3 Binary Quasar

Imaging and spectroscopy with the Hubble Space Telescope show that LBQS 0103-2753 (V = 17.8, z = 0.848) is a binary quasar with a separation of 03, or 2.3 kpc. This is by far the smallest separation binary quasar reported to date. The two components have very different spectra, including the presence of strong broad absorption lines (BALs) in component A only. The emission-line redshifts, based on the broad high-ionization C IV lines, are zA = 0.834 and zB = 0.858; their difference is 3900 km s-1 in velocity units. The broad C IV lines, however, are probably not a good indicator of systemic redshift; and LBQS 0103-2753A and B could have a much smaller systemic redshift difference, like the other known binary quasars. If the systemic redshift difference is small, then LBQS 0103-2753 would most likely be a galaxy merger that has led to a binary supermassive black hole. There is now one known 03 binary among roughly 500 QSOs that have been observed in a way that would reveal such a close binary. This suggests that QSO activity is substantially more likely for black hole binaries at spacings ~2 kpc than at ~15 to 60 kpc. Between 1987 and 1998, the observed Mg II BAL disappeared.

Upper Limits of Iron Line Flux in X-Ray Afterglow of Two Gamma-Ray Bursts with ASCA

The iron emission line in the X-ray afterglow spectra of a Gamma-Ray Burst is thought to be a key to understanding the environment of progenitors. Although two independent observations with BeppoSAX and ASCA reported strong red-shifted iron emission line, the statistical significance of these detections was not very high. Further observations were expected and two more GRBs, GRB 990123 and GRB 990704, were observed with the X-ray satellite ASCA in 1999. The spectra of these two afterglows can be explained by a simple power-law model with excess absorption, but without any iron emission-line feature. The 90% upper limit for the iron line flux is as low as FFe = 3.3 × 10−6 photons cm−2 s−1, or less than ∼ 100 eV in equivalent width (EW). This upper limit is an order-of-magnitude smaller than the previous two detections of 1–3 keV in EW.

Possibly interacting Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov galaxies

Among the galaxies which were included in the Atlas and Catalogue of Interacting galaxies by Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov (hereafter VV) as multiple systems (“nests”, “chains” and similarly looking systems), there are many objects, where the interaction is not evident. Some of them are single objects, including low-mass galaxies with active star formation (SF). In this work we present the description of observations and results of the long-slit spectrophotometry with the Russian 6 m telescope of three VV-galaxies looking like double or multiple systems, and Hi observations of one of them in order to elucidate their nature, determine their metallicity, kinematic properties and the evolution status. Galaxies VV 432 and VV 747 are found to be dwarf systems with low oxygen abundance (O/H ≈ 1/22 and 1/12 of the solar value, respectively). Their velocity curves indicate quite slow rotation with respective maximum velocities of about 60 and 80 km s-1, in agreement with their low luminosities. The distance to VV 432 is rather uncertain. If it is a member of Virgo Cluster, this is the most metal-deficient known galaxy of this aggregate. For galaxy VV 543 the measured emission-line redshift 0.047 appeared ten times larger than it was given in the original paper and is cited in databases. This “system” evidently represents an optical pair of two galaxies with large velocity difference. The fainter western component is an Hii-galaxy, while the brighter one is an absorption-line early-type galaxy with the radial velocity being 1600 km s-1 lower.

The End of the Lines for OX 169: No Binary Broad‐Line Region

We show that unusual Balmer emission line profiles of the quasar OX 169, frequently described as either self-absorbed or double peaked, are actually neither. The effect is an illusion resulting from two coincidences. First, the forbidden lines are quite strong and broad. Consequently, the [N II]6583 line and the associated narrow-line component of H-alpha present the appearance of twin H-alpha peaks. Second, the redshift of 0.2110 brings H-beta into coincidence with Na I D at zero redshift, and ISM absorption in Na I D divides the H-beta emission line. In spectra obtained over the past decade, we see no substantial change in the character of the line profiles, and no indication of intrinsic double-peaked structure. The H-gamma, Mg II, and Ly-alpha emission lines are single peaked, and all of the emission-line redshifts are consistent once they are correctly attributed to their permitted and forbidden-line identifications. A systematic shift of up to 700 km/s between broad and narrow lines is seen, but such differences are common, and could be due to gravitational and transverse redshift in a low-inclination disk. Stockton & Farnham (1991) had called attention to an apparent tidal tail in the host galaxy of OX 169, and speculated that a recent merger had supplied the nucleus with a coalescing pair of black holes which was now revealing its existence in the form of two physically distinct broad-line regions. Although there is no longer any evidence for two broad emission-line regions in OX 169, binary black holes should form frequently in galaxy mergers, and it is still worthwhile to monitor the radial velocities of emission lines which could supply evidence of their existence in certain objects.

Intrinsic Narrow Absorption Lines in Keck HIRES Spectra of a Sample of Six Quasars

In the course of a large survey of intervening Mg II absorbers in the spectra of quasars, the C IV emission lines of six of the target objects (three radio-loud and three radio-quiet) were observed serendipitously. In four of these six quasars, we detected "associated" narrow absorption lines with velocities within 5000 km s-1 of the quasar emission-line redshift (three of these four quasars are radio quiet while the other is radio loud). As a result of the original target selection, the small sample of six quasars is unbiased toward finding associated absorption lines. In three of these four cases, the absorption-line optical-depth ratios deviate from the prediction based on atomic physics, suggesting that the background photon source(s) are only partially covered by the absorbing medium and, by extension, that the absorption lines are intrinsic to the quasar. We have used the method of Barlow &Sargent to determine the effective coverage fraction of background source(s) and we have extended it to constrain the coverage fraction of the continuum and broad emission-line sources separately. We have also applied this refined method to the narrow intrinsic absorption lines in three additional quasars for which the necessary data were available from the literature. We find that in two objects from our sample, the continuum source must be partially covered regardless of the covering factor of the emission-line source. We discuss these results in the context of the properties of absorption lines observed in different types of active galaxies and related outflow phenomena. We cannot distinguish between possible mechanisms for the origin of the partial coverage signature, although we do consider possible observational tests. Finally, we speculate on how the gas responsible for the narrow lines may be related to the accretion disk wind that may be responsible for the broad absorption lines observed in some quasars.

Infrared Observations of Nebular Emission Lines from Galaxies atz≃ 3

We present the first results from a program of near-infrared spectroscopy aimed at studying the familiar rest-frame optical emission lines from the H II regions of Lyman break galaxies at z 3. By targeting redshifts that bring the lines of interest into gaps between the strong OH sky emission, we have been successful in detecting Balmer and [O III] emission lines in all five galaxies observed so far with CGS4 on UKIRT. The typical line fluxes are a few times 10-17 ergs s-1 cm-2, approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than the limits reached with wide-field narrowband imaging surveys. For a Salpeter initial mass function and a H0 = 70 km s-1 Mpc-1, q0 = 0.1 cosmology, the Hβ luminosities uncorrected for dust extinction imply star formation rates of 20-270 M☉ yr-1; these values are greater than those that may have been deduced from the ultraviolet continuum luminosities at 1500 A by factors of between ~0.7 and ~7. Uncertainties in the shape of the reddening curve and in the intrinsic UV continuum slope do not yet allow us to assess accurately the level of dust extinction; however, on the basis of the present limited sample, it appears that an extinction of 1-2 mag at 1500 A may be typical of Lyman break galaxies. This value is consistent with recent estimates of dust obscuration in star-forming galaxies at z ≤ 1 and does not require a substantial revision of the broad picture of star formation over the Hubble time proposed by Madau and coworkers in 1996. In four out of five cases the velocity dispersion of the emission line gas is σ 70 km s-1, while in the fifth the line widths are nearly three times larger. Virial masses Mvir ≈ (1-5) × 1010 M☉ are suggested, but both velocities and masses could be higher, because our observations are only sensitive to the brightest cores of these systems where the line widths may not sample the full gravitational potential. The relative redshifts of interstellar absorption, nebular emission, and Lyα emission lines differ by several hundred km s-1 and suggest that large-scale outflows may be a common characteristic of Lyman break galaxies. The forthcoming availability of high-resolution infrared spectrographs on large telescopes will soon allow all of these questions to be addressed in much greater detail.

The Wolf effect and the redshift of quasars

We consider a simple model, based on currently accepted models for active galactic nuclei, for a quasi-stellar object (QSO or quasar) and examine the influence that correlation-induced spectral changes (The Wolf Effect) may have upon the redshifts of the optical emission lines.

Spectropolarimetry of 3CR 68.1: A Highly Inclined Quasar

We present Keck spectropolarimetry of the highly polarized radio-loud quasar 3CR 68.1 (z=1.228, V=19). The polarization increases from 5 in the red (4000 A rest-frame) to >10% in the blue (1900 A rest-frame). The broad emission lines are polarized the same as the continuum, which shows that 3CR 68.1 is not a blazar as it has sometimes been regarded in the past. We also present measurements of the emission lines and a strong, blueshifted, associated absorption line system, as well as a detection at the emission-line redshift of Ca II K absorption, presumably from stars in the host galaxy. 3CR 68.1 belongs to an observationally rare class of highly polarized quasars that are neither blazars nor partially obscured radio-quiet QSOs. Taking into account 3CR 68.1's other unusual properties, such as its extremely red spectral energy distribution and its extreme lobe dominance, we explain our spectropolarimetric results in terms of unified models. We argue that we have a dusty, highly inclined view of 3CR 68.1, with reddened scattered (polarized) quasar light diluted by even more dust-reddened quasar light reaching us directly from the nucleus.