Microlensing Constraints on Broad Absorption and Emission Line Flows in the Quasar H1413+117

TL;DR

This study uses microlensing in a gravitationally lensed quasar to constrain the size and kinematics of broad emission and absorption line regions, revealing details about the outflow structure and ionization in the quasar.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining microlensing with spectral modeling to probe the spatial extent and velocity structure of quasar line regions.

Findings

No significant broad line emission from regions smaller than ~20 light days.

Detection of a sharp, blueshifted absorption onset at 1,500 km/s in high-ionization lines.

Evidence of high covering factor of absorption over a large outflow radius.

Abstract

We present new integral field spectroscopy of the gravitationally lensed broad absorption line (BAL) quasar H1413+117, covering the ultraviolet to visible rest-frame spectral range. We observe strong microlensing signatures in lensed image D, and we use this microlensing to simultaneously constrain both the broad emission and broad absorption line gas. By modeling the lens system over the range of probable lensing galaxy redshifts and using on a new argument based on the wavelength-independence of the broad line lensing magnifications, we determine that there is no significant broad line emission from smaller than ~20 light days. We also perform spectral decomposition to derive the intrinsic broad emission line (BEL) and continuum spectrum, subject to BAL absorption. We also reconstruct the intrinsic BAL absorption profile, whose features allow us to constrain outflow kinematics in the context of a disk-wind model. We find a very sharp, blueshifted onset of absorption of 1,500 km/s in both C IV and N V that may correspond to an inner edge of a disk-wind's radial outflow. The lower ionization Si IV and Al III have higher-velocity absorption onsets, consistent with a decreasing ionization parameter with radius in an accelerating outflow. There is evidence of strong absorption in the BEL component which indicates a high covering factor for absorption over two orders of magnitude in outflow radius.