# ERQs are the BOSS of Quasar Samples: The Highest-Velocity [OIII] Quasar Outflows

## TL;DR

This study reveals that Extremely Red Quasars (ERQs) exhibit the highest-velocity [OIII] outflows ever observed, which are significantly faster than in typical quasars and may influence galaxy evolution.

## Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of extreme [OIII] outflows in ERQs, linking their red colors to powerful quasar winds and suggesting a short-lived blow-out phase in galaxy evolution.

## Key findings

- ERQs have [OIII] outflows with widths up to 7227 km/s.
- ERQ outflow velocities are about 3 times larger than in luminosity-matched blue quasars.
- At least 3-5% of bolometric luminosity is converted into wind kinetic power.

## Abstract

We investigate Extremely Red Quasars (ERQs), a remarkable population of heavily-reddened quasars at redshift z$\sim$2 - 3 that might be caught during a short-lived 'blow-out' phase of quasar/galaxy evolution. We perform a near-IR observational campaign using Keck/NIRSPEC, VLT/X-shooter and Gemini/GNIRS to measure rest-frame optical spectra of 28 ERQs with median infrared luminosity $\langle$log L(erg/s)$\rangle$ $\sim$46.2. They exhibit the broadest and most blue-shifted [OIII] $\lambda$4959,5007 emission lines ever reported, with widths (w90) ranging between 2053 and 7227 km/s, and maximum outflow speeds (v98) up to 6702 km/s. ERQs on average have [OIII] outflows velocities about 3 times larger than those of luminosity-matched blue quasar samples. We show that the faster [OIII] outflows in ERQs are strongly correlated with their extreme red colors and not with radio-loudness, larger quasar luminosities, nor higher Eddington ratios. We estimate for these objects that at least 3-5 per cent of their bolometric luminosity is being converted into the kinetic power of the observed wind. Our results reveal that ERQs have the potential to strongly affect the evolution of host galaxies.