Feedback from Broad Absorption Line Quasars
Abstract
The fraction of the total bolometric energy released over an AGN's lifetime into the ISM and IGM in the form kinetic energy injection scales as the outflow velocity to the third power so we expect that powerful broad absorption line (BAL) quasars may have mass outflow rates that are large enough to influence significantly the formation of the host galaxy and to regulate the growth of the central black hole. One of the most promising radio quiet quasars for studying the properties of the outflow is the lensed BAL quasar APM 08279+5255. The large flux magnification by a factor of about 100 provided by the gravitational lens effect combined with the large redshift (z = 3.91) of the quasar have provided the highest S/N X-ray spectra of a quasar containing X-ray BALs.
We present results from recent monitoring observations of APM 08279+5255. performed with the Suzaku, XMM-Newton and Chandra observatories. Significant variability of the X-ray BALs is detected on timescales as short as 4 days (proper time) implying launching radii of about 6 times the Schwarzschild radius. The fitted width of the X-ray absorption troughs imply a large gradient in the outflow velocity of the X-ray absorbers with projected outflow velocities of up to 0.5c. The notch-like shape of the detected X-ray BALs are similar to those produced in recent numerical simulations (i.e. Schurch & Done 2007) that include radiative transfer calculations through highly ionized X-ray absorbers outflowing at near relativistic velocities. We provide preliminary constraints of the outflows properties.- Publication:
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AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #10
- Pub Date:
- March 2008
- Bibcode:
- 2008HEAD...10.2609C