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.
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