Massive Extremely High-Velocity Outflow in the Quasar J164653.72+243942.2

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Main Authors: Hidalgo, Paola Rodríguez, Choi, Hyunseop, Hall, Patrick B., Leighly, Karen M., Flores, Liliana, Charles, Mikel M., DeFrancesco, Cora, Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie, Perreault-Levasseur, Laurence Perreault-Levasseur Laurence
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Published: 2025
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author Hidalgo, Paola Rodríguez
Choi, Hyunseop
Hall, Patrick B.
Leighly, Karen M.
Flores, Liliana
Charles, Mikel M.
DeFrancesco, Cora
Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie
Perreault-Levasseur, Laurence Perreault-Levasseur Laurence
author_facet Hidalgo, Paola Rodríguez
Choi, Hyunseop
Hall, Patrick B.
Leighly, Karen M.
Flores, Liliana
Charles, Mikel M.
DeFrancesco, Cora
Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie
Perreault-Levasseur, Laurence Perreault-Levasseur Laurence
contents We present the analysis of one of the most extreme quasar outflows found to date in our survey of extremely high velocity outflows (EHVO). J164653.72+243942.2 (z ~ 3.04) shows variable CIV1548,1551 absorption at speeds larger than 0.1c, accompanied by SiIV, NV and Lya, and disappearing absorption at lower speeds. We perform absorption measurements using the Apparent Optical Depth method and SimBAL. We find the absorption to be very broad (Δv ~35,100 km/s in the first epoch and ~13,000 km/s in the second one) and fast (vmax ~ -50,200 km/s and -49,000 km/s, respectively). We measure large column densities ($\rm \log N_{H} >$ 21.6 $\rm\ [cm^{-2}]$) and are able to place distance estimates for the EHVO ($5\lesssim R\lesssim28$ pc) and the lower-velocity outflow ($7\lesssim R\lesssim540$ pc). We estimate a mass outflow rate for the EHVO to be $\dot M_{out}\sim50-290\rm \ M_\odot\ yr^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log\ L_{KE}\sim46.5-47.2\ \rm [erg\ s^{-1}$] in both epochs. The lower-velocity component has a mass outflow rate $\dot M_{out}\sim10-790\rm \ M_\odot\ yr^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log\ L_{KE}\sim45.3-47.2\ \rm [erg\ s^{-1]}$. We find that J164653.72+243942.2 is not an outlier among EHVO quasars in regard to its physical properties. While its column density is lower than typical BAL values, its higher outflow velocities drive most of the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity. These results emphasize the crucial role of EHVOs in powering quasar feedback, and failing to account for these outflows likely leads to underestimating the feedback impact on galaxies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_14221
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Massive Extremely High-Velocity Outflow in the Quasar J164653.72+243942.2
Hidalgo, Paola Rodríguez
Choi, Hyunseop
Hall, Patrick B.
Leighly, Karen M.
Flores, Liliana
Charles, Mikel M.
DeFrancesco, Cora
Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie
Perreault-Levasseur, Laurence Perreault-Levasseur Laurence
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We present the analysis of one of the most extreme quasar outflows found to date in our survey of extremely high velocity outflows (EHVO). J164653.72+243942.2 (z ~ 3.04) shows variable CIV1548,1551 absorption at speeds larger than 0.1c, accompanied by SiIV, NV and Lya, and disappearing absorption at lower speeds. We perform absorption measurements using the Apparent Optical Depth method and SimBAL. We find the absorption to be very broad (Δv ~35,100 km/s in the first epoch and ~13,000 km/s in the second one) and fast (vmax ~ -50,200 km/s and -49,000 km/s, respectively). We measure large column densities ($\rm \log N_{H} >$ 21.6 $\rm\ [cm^{-2}]$) and are able to place distance estimates for the EHVO ($5\lesssim R\lesssim28$ pc) and the lower-velocity outflow ($7\lesssim R\lesssim540$ pc). We estimate a mass outflow rate for the EHVO to be $\dot M_{out}\sim50-290\rm \ M_\odot\ yr^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log\ L_{KE}\sim46.5-47.2\ \rm [erg\ s^{-1}$] in both epochs. The lower-velocity component has a mass outflow rate $\dot M_{out}\sim10-790\rm \ M_\odot\ yr^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log\ L_{KE}\sim45.3-47.2\ \rm [erg\ s^{-1]}$. We find that J164653.72+243942.2 is not an outlier among EHVO quasars in regard to its physical properties. While its column density is lower than typical BAL values, its higher outflow velocities drive most of the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity. These results emphasize the crucial role of EHVOs in powering quasar feedback, and failing to account for these outflows likely leads to underestimating the feedback impact on galaxies.
title Massive Extremely High-Velocity Outflow in the Quasar J164653.72+243942.2
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.14221