Distance, Energy, and Variability of Quasar Outflows: Two HST/COS Epochs of LBQS 1206+1052∗ ∗ Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555

We analyze new HST/COS spectra for two quasar absorption outflows seen in the quasi-stellar object LBQS 1206+1052. These data cover, for the first time, absorption troughs from S iv, Si ii, and P v. From the ratio of the S iv* to S iv column densities, we measure the electron number density of the h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Astrophysical journal 2018-09, Vol.865 (2)
Main Authors: Miller, Timothy R., Arav, Nahum, Xu, Xinfeng, Kriss, Gerard A., Plesha, Rachel J., Benn, Chris, Liu, Guilin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
galaxies: active
galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
ISM: jets and outflows
quasars: absorption lines
quasars: general
quasars: individual (LBQS 1206+1052)
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Summary:We analyze new HST/COS spectra for two quasar absorption outflows seen in the quasi-stellar object LBQS 1206+1052. These data cover, for the first time, absorption troughs from S iv, Si ii, and P v. From the ratio of the S iv* to S iv column densities, we measure the electron number density of the higher-velocity (−1400 km s−1, v1400) outflow to be cm−3 and constrain the lower-velocity (−730 km s−1, v700) outflow to log(ne) > 5.3 cm−3. The ne associated with the higher-velocity outflow is an order of magnitude larger than reported in prior work. We find that the previous measurement was unreliable since it was based on density-sensitive absorption troughs that were likely saturated. Using photoionization models, we determine the best χ2-minimization fit for the ionization parameter and hydrogen column density of the higher-velocity outflow: log( and log( cm−2, respectively. We calculate from UH and ne a distance of pc from the central source to the outflow. Using an SED attenuated by the v700 outflow yields a two-phase photoionization solution for the v1400 outflow, separated by a . Otherwise, the resultant distance, mass flux, and kinetic luminosity are similar to the unattenuated case. However, the attenuated analysis has significant uncertainties due to a lack of constraints on the v700 outflow in 2017.
ISSN:0004-637X
1538-4357
DOI:10.3847/1538-4357/aad817