Bal Phosphorus Abundance and Evidence for Immense Ionic Column Densities in Quasar Outflows: VLT/X-Shooter Observations of Quasar SDSS J1512+1119

Borguet, B.; Edmonds, Doug; Arav, Nahum; Benn, Chris; Chamberlain, Carter

doi:10.1088/0004-637x/758/1/69

Cited by 58 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…The new diagnostic troughs seen during the 2013 campaign (especially P v) demonstrate this crucial point. The existence of similar depth C iv and P v troughs in component 1 is evidence that the actual C iv N ion is at least a factor of 100 larger than the lower limit (see discussion in Borguet et al 2012a). A similar sit- Table 2 is incompatible with the Si iii N ion measurement, even if that trough is unsaturated.…”

Section: Comparison With Crenshaw Et Al (2009)mentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In particular, Fig. 5 in Borguet et al (2012a) shows that the relative populations of the three levels are a sensitive probe to a wide range of n e while being insensitive to temperature. The two high-S/N troughs from the J = 2 level allow us to accurately account for the mild saturation in these troughs and therefore to derive reliable N ion for both levels.…”

Section: Number Density and Distancementioning

confidence: 98%

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Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548

Arav

Chamberlain

Kriss

et al. 2015

A&A

115

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Context. AGN outflows are thought to influence the evolution of their host galaxies and of super massive black holes. Our deep multiwavelength campaign on NGC 5548 has revealed a new, unusually strong X-ray obscuration, accompanied by broad UV absorption troughs observed for the first time in this object. The X-ray obscuration caused a dramatic decrease in the incident ionizing flux on the outflow that produces the long-studied narrow UV absorption lines in this AGN. The resulting data allowed us to construct a comprehensive physical, spatial, and temporal picture for this enduring AGN wind. Aims. We aim to determine the distance of the narrow UV outflow components from the central source, their total column-density, and the mechanism responsible for their observed absorption variability. Methods. We study the UV spectra acquired during the campaign, as well as from four previous epochs (1998−2011). Our main analysis tools are ionic column-density extraction techniques, photoionization models based on the code CLOUDY, and collisional excitation simulations. Results. A simple model based on a fixed total column-density absorber, reacting to changes in ionizing illumination, matches the very different ionization states seen in five spectroscopic epochs spanning 16 years. The main component of the enduring outflow is situated at 3.5 ± 1.1 pc from the central source, and its distance and number density are similar to those of the narrow-emitting-line region in this object. Three other components are situated between 5−70 pc and two are farther than 100 pc. The wealth of observational constraints and the anti-correlation between the observed X-ray and UV flux in the 2002 and 2013 epochs make our physical model a leading contender for interpreting trough variability data of quasar outflows. Conclusions. This campaign, in combination with prior UV and X-ray data, yields the first simple model that can explain the physical characteristics and the substantial variability observed in an AGN outflow. Key words. galaxies: Seyfert Appendix A is available in electronic form at

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Section: Comparison With Crenshaw Et Al (2009)mentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Number Density and Distancementioning

confidence: 98%

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548

Arav

Chamberlain

Kriss

et al. 2015

A&A

115

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“…We obtain the following values for the ionic column densities: NCIV ∼ 1.3 × 10 16 cm −2 , NSiIV ∼ 3.6×10 15 cm −2 , and NPV ∼ 4.0×10 15 cm −2 . Given the small number of lines we measure and the modest constraints they provide on the ionization and column densities, it is sufficient to rely on the published photoionization models by Hamann (1998), Leighly et al (2009Leighly et al ( , 2011, and Borguet et al (2012) to constrain the true optical depths in the C iv BAL and the true total column density, NH , in the Q1413+1143 outflow. The quasar studied by Borguet et al (2012) has much narrower absorption lines than Q1413+1143, particularly in P v, and the ionic column densities for C iv, Si iv, and P v are roughly an order of Figure 4.…”

Section: Line Optical Depths and Total Column Densitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leighly et al (2009) and Leighly et al (2011) present similar results across a wide range of physical conditions. Using many more observational constraints on the outflow conditions in a particular quasar, Borguet et al (2012) estimated that the C iv/P v optical depth ratio should be ∼1200. Altogether these results show that even a weak P v detection indicates a very saturated C iv BAL and large total column densities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A variable P舁v broad absorption line and quasar outflow energetics

Capellupo

Hamann

Barlow

2014

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Broad absorption lines (BALs) in quasar spectra identify high velocity outflows that might exist in all quasars and could play a major role in feedback to galaxy evolution. The viability of BAL outflows as a feedback mechanism depends on their kinetic energies, as derived from the outflow velocities, column densities, and distances from the central quasar. We estimate these quantities for the quasar, Q1413+1143 (redshift z e = 2.56), aided by the first detection of P v λ1118, 1128 BAL variability in a quasar. In particular, P v absorption at velocities where the C iv trough does not reach zero intensity implies that the C iv BAL is saturated and the absorber only partially covers the background continuum source (with characteristic size <0.01 pc). With the assumption of solar abundances, we estimate that the total column density in the BAL outflow is log N H 22.3 cm −2 . Variability in the P v and saturated C iv BALs strongly disfavors changes in the ionization as the cause of the BAL variability, but supports models with high-column density BAL clouds moving across our lines of sight. The observed variability time of 1.6 yr in the quasar rest frame indicates crossing speeds >750 km s −1 and a radial distance from the central black hole of 3.5 pc, if the crossing speeds are Keplerian. The total outflow mass is ∼4100 M ⊙ , the kinetic energy ∼4 × 10 54 erg, and the ratio of the outflow kinetic energy luminosity to the quasar bolometric luminosity is ∼0.02 (at the minimum column density and maximum distance), which might be sufficient for important feedback to the quasar's host galaxy.

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“…Prochaska Altogether, these previous results demonstrate the importance of the detection of low abundance ions in understanding the energetics of BAL outflows. To date, however, detections of P v absorption have been limited to a handful of individual cases (Turnshek 1988;Junkkarinen et al 1997;Hamann 1998;Borguet et al 2012;Capellupo et al 2014). Identifying clear detections of P v absorption in a large sample of BAL quasars would allow comparisons between BAL quasars with such detections and those without.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quasars with P v broad absorption in BOSS data release 9

Capellupo

Hamann

Herbst

et al. 2017

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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Broad absorption lines (BALs) found in a significant fraction of quasar spectra identify high-velocity outflows that might be present in all quasars and could be a major factor in feedback to galaxy evolution. Understanding the nature of these flows requires further constraints on their physical properties, including their column densities, for which well-studied BALs, such as C iv λλ1548,1551, typically provide only a lower limit because of saturation effects. Low-abundance lines, such as P v λλ1118,1128, indicate large column densities, implying outflows more powerful than measurements of C iv alone would indicate. We search through a sample of 2694 BAL quasars from the SDSS-III/BOSS DR9 quasar catalog for such absorption, and we identify 81 'definite' and 86 'probable' detections of P v broad absorption, yielding a firm lower limit of 3.0−6.2% for the incidence of such absorption among BAL quasars. The P v-detected quasars tend to have stronger C iv and Si iv absorption, as well as a higher incidence of LoBAL absorption, than the overall BAL quasar population. Many of the P v-detected quasars have C iv troughs that do not reach zero intensity (at velocities where P v is detected), confirming that the outflow gas only partially covers the UV continuum source. P v appears significantly in a composite spectrum of non-P v-detected BAL quasars, indicating that P v absorption (and large column densities) are much more common than indicated by our search results. Our sample of P v detections significantly increases the number of known P v detections, providing opportunities for follow-up studies to better understand BAL outflow energetics.

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Bal Phosphorus Abundance and Evidence for Immense Ionic Column Densities in Quasar Outflows: VLT/X-Shooter Observations of Quasar SDSS J1512+1119

Cited by 58 publications

References 58 publications

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548

A variable P舁v broad absorption line and quasar outflow energetics

Quasars with P v broad absorption in BOSS data release 9

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