A Kinematic Shift of the C IV Broad Absorption Line in Quasar SDSS J120819.29+035559.4

TL;DR

This paper reports a kinematic shift in the C IV broad absorption line of quasar SDSS J120819.29+035559.4, linking it to radiation-driven acceleration and ionization changes in the outflow clouds.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence of a kinematic shift in BALs linked to radiation pressure and ionization variability in a quasar outflow.

Findings

Kinematic shift of -1166 km/s observed in BAL system A.

Ionization change explains equivalent width variations in system B.

Line-locking phenomena indicate radiative driving of outflows.

Abstract

We report the kinematic shift of the C IV broad absorption line (BAL) in quasar SDSS J120819.29+035559.4 (hereafter J1208+0355). This quasar shows two BAL systems, including a blue component of system A at $\sim$-23500$\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ that shows a kinematic shift of -1166$\pm$65$\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$, and a red component of system B at $\sim$-7000$\,\rm km\,s^{-1}$ that can be decomposed into several narrow absorption lines (NALs). First, we confirm that the most likely cause for the equivalent width variations of the absorption lines (at least for system B) in J1208+0355 is the ionization change scenario as a response to the changes in the ionization continuum according to the following observational factors: (1) coordinated multiple absorption lines strengthening; (2) the continuum flux shows an obvious weakening. Second, we find line-locking phenomena from the blended NALs within system B, indicating that these outflow clouds are driven by a radiative force caused by resonance lines. The above two research aspects convincingly reveal that the BAL outflows of J1208+0355 are affected by the background radiation energy. Therefore, we infer that the kinematic shift shown in system A may be produced by actual line-of-sight acceleration of the outflow clouds, which is driven by radiation pressure from the background light source.