Spectrophotomery of Six Broad Absorption Line QSOs

The authors present spectrophotometric observations of six broad absorption-line QSOs ("BALQSOs"). These six QSOs, UM 232, UM 275, UM 139, UM 141, Q 1246-057, and RS 23, were observed at a resolution of 10 Å. The emission lines and continua of these BALQSOs are compared to emission lines and continua of QSOs without BALs. Many of the continuum and emission line characteristics of the BALQSOs and QSOs without BALs are similar. However, a statistically significant difference is found in the emission-line intensity ratio for N V λ1240/C IV λ1549. The absorption troughs of these QSOs are studied using approximate profiles of optical depth versus velocity. The column densities found for C⁺³ are in the range 0.5×10¹⁶ to 2×10¹⁶cm^-2. The physical conditions in the BAL region are considered using the observed estimates for the column densities as constraints.