New Results on Quasar Outflows

Accretion disk outflows are an important part of the quasar phenomenon. They might play a major role in distributing metals to the galactic surroundings, halting growth of the central black hole and providing kinetic energy “feedback” to regulate star formation in the host galaxies. Some models of galaxy evolution indicate that feedback requires kinetic energy luminosities, L_K, that are ~5% of the quasar bolometric; L_K/L = Ṁ_wν²/2η:Ṁ_accc² ~ 5% is possible if Ṁ_w ~ Ṁ_acc (with ν~ 0.1c, and η ~ 0.1). Here we describe results from two studies designed to test the theoretical energetics of radiatively driven outflows and derive observational constraints on the outflow geometry and physical properties emphasizing weaker outflow features like NALs and mini-BALs.