The Contribution of Quasar Absorption Outflows to AGN Feedback

TL;DR

This study analyzes a sample of nine luminous quasars to assess the distances and energies of their outflows, concluding that most outflows are capable of significantly influencing galaxy evolution through AGN feedback.

Contribution

The paper provides the first unbiased analysis of quasar outflows' distances and energies, demonstrating their potential role in AGN feedback across a representative quasar sample.

Findings

Over half of the outflows are powerful enough for AGN feedback.

Most outflows are located at distances greater than 100 parsecs.

Results are consistent across different quasar samples.

Abstract

Determining the distance of quasar absorption outflows from the central source (R) and their kinetic luminosity are crucial for understanding their contribution to active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. Here we summarize the results for a sample of nine luminous quasars that were observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. We find that the outflows in more than half of the objects are powerful enough to be the main agents for AGN feedback, and that most outflows are found at R>100 pc. The sample is representative of the quasar absorption outflow population as a whole and is unbiased towards specific ranges of R and kinetic luminosity. Therefore, the analysis results can be extended to the majority of such objects, including broad absorption line quasars. We find that these results are consistent with those of another sample (seven quasars) that is also unbiased towards specific ranges of R and kinetic luminosity. Assuming that all quasars have absorption outflows, we conclude that most luminous quasars produce outflows that can contribute significantly to AGN feedback. We also discuss the criterion for whether an outflow is energetic enough to cause AGN feedback effects.