HST/COS Observations of Quasar Outflows in the 500-1050 Angstrom Rest Frame: VII. Distances and Energetics for 11 Outflows in Five Quasars

TL;DR

This study uses HST/COS spectra to analyze 16 quasar outflows, constraining distances and energetics for 11, revealing some outflows capable of influencing galaxy evolution through feedback.

Contribution

First detailed measurements of distances and energetics for multiple quasar outflows using UV spectra, linking UV and X-ray outflow phases.

Findings

Eight outflows have distances between 10 and 1000 parsecs.

Two outflows have sufficient kinetic energy for AGN feedback.

Detection of new ion transitions, including Cl VII and Ne V.

Abstract

From Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph spectra of five quasars, 16 outflows are detected. For 11 outflows, we are able to constrain their distances to the central source (R) and their energetics. In instances of multiple electron number density determinations (used in the calculation of R) for the same outflow, the values are consistent within errors. For the 11 outflows, eight have measurements for R (between 10 and 1000 pc), one has a lower limit, another has an upper limit, and the last has a range in R. There are two outflows that have enough kinetic luminosity to be major contributors to active galactic nucleus feedback. The outflowing mass is found primarily in a very high-ionization phase, which is probed using troughs from, e.g., Ne VIII, Na IX, Mg X, and Si XII. Such ions connect the physical conditions of these ultraviolet outflows to the X-ray warm absorber outflows seen in nearby Seyfert galaxies. The ion Cl VII and several new transitions from Ne V have been detected for the first time.