FLARE-LIKE VARIABILITY OF THE Mg ii λ2800 EMISSION LINE IN THE γ -RAY BLAZAR 3C 454.3

We report the detection of a statistically significant flare-like event in the Mg ii λ2800 emission line of 3C 454.3 during the outburst of autumn 2010. The highest levels of emission line flux recorded over the monitoring period (2008–2011) coincide with a superluminal jet component traversing through the radio core. This finding crucially links the broad emission line fluctuations to the non-thermal continuum emission produced by relativistically moving material in the jet and hence to the presence of broad-line region clouds surrounding the radio core. If the radio core were located at several parsecs from the central black hole, then our results would suggest the presence of broad-line region material outside the inner parsec where the canonical broad-line region is envisaged to be located. We briefly discuss the implications of broad emission line material ionized by non-thermal continuum in the context of virial black hole mass estimates and gamma-ray production mechanisms.