The X-ray properties of the most luminous quasars with strong emission-line outflows

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Hauptverfasser: Shlentsova, Anastasia, Trefoloni, Bartolomeo, Signorini, Matilde, Risaliti, Guido, Lusso, Elisabeta, Nardini, Emanuele, Bauer, Franz E., Temple, Matthew J., Rankine, Amy L., Richards, Gordon T.
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Veröffentlicht: 2026
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author Shlentsova, Anastasia
Trefoloni, Bartolomeo
Signorini, Matilde
Risaliti, Guido
Lusso, Elisabeta
Nardini, Emanuele
Bauer, Franz E.
Temple, Matthew J.
Rankine, Amy L.
Richards, Gordon T.
author_facet Shlentsova, Anastasia
Trefoloni, Bartolomeo
Signorini, Matilde
Risaliti, Guido
Lusso, Elisabeta
Nardini, Emanuele
Bauer, Franz E.
Temple, Matthew J.
Rankine, Amy L.
Richards, Gordon T.
contents Strong outflows from active galactic nuclei are frequently observed in objects with lower coronal X-ray luminosity. This intrinsic X-ray weakness is considered a requirement for the formation of radiatively driven winds. To obtain an unbiased view on the connection between X-ray emission and the presence of powerful winds in the most luminous quasar phase, we present an X-ray analysis of a sample of extremely luminous, radio-quiet quasars with signatures of strong outflows in their rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission spectra. We study the $Chandra$ X-ray spectral properties of 10 objects, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16 quasar catalogue based on their UV luminosities and ${\rm C}_{\rm IV}$ emission line blueshifts, comparing them to typical optically blue quasars. Our analysis reveals that seven out of 10 quasars in our sample have photon indices $Γ>1.7$. Only two out of 10 objects exhibiting outflows with velocities exceeding 1400 km/s are X-ray 'weak', consistent with the fraction of X-ray 'weak' objects generally observed in quasar populations. Notably, one of the objects identified as X-ray 'weak' is likely an intrinsically X-ray 'normal' quasar that is heavily obscured. We observe a tentative indication at a $\sim$2$σ$ confidence level that the correlation between the excessively low X-ray flux level and the presence of ${\rm C}_{\rm IV}$ emission-line outflows might emerge at wind velocities greater than 3000 km/s. Our study provides additional evidence that the relationship between X-ray emission and the presence of winds is intricate. Our findings emphasise the need for X-ray observations of a larger sample of UV-selected quasars with confirmed strong emission-line outflows to unravel the nuanced interplay between winds and X-ray emission.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_06793
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The X-ray properties of the most luminous quasars with strong emission-line outflows
Shlentsova, Anastasia
Trefoloni, Bartolomeo
Signorini, Matilde
Risaliti, Guido
Lusso, Elisabeta
Nardini, Emanuele
Bauer, Franz E.
Temple, Matthew J.
Rankine, Amy L.
Richards, Gordon T.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Strong outflows from active galactic nuclei are frequently observed in objects with lower coronal X-ray luminosity. This intrinsic X-ray weakness is considered a requirement for the formation of radiatively driven winds. To obtain an unbiased view on the connection between X-ray emission and the presence of powerful winds in the most luminous quasar phase, we present an X-ray analysis of a sample of extremely luminous, radio-quiet quasars with signatures of strong outflows in their rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission spectra. We study the $Chandra$ X-ray spectral properties of 10 objects, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 16 quasar catalogue based on their UV luminosities and ${\rm C}_{\rm IV}$ emission line blueshifts, comparing them to typical optically blue quasars. Our analysis reveals that seven out of 10 quasars in our sample have photon indices $Γ>1.7$. Only two out of 10 objects exhibiting outflows with velocities exceeding 1400 km/s are X-ray 'weak', consistent with the fraction of X-ray 'weak' objects generally observed in quasar populations. Notably, one of the objects identified as X-ray 'weak' is likely an intrinsically X-ray 'normal' quasar that is heavily obscured. We observe a tentative indication at a $\sim$2$σ$ confidence level that the correlation between the excessively low X-ray flux level and the presence of ${\rm C}_{\rm IV}$ emission-line outflows might emerge at wind velocities greater than 3000 km/s. Our study provides additional evidence that the relationship between X-ray emission and the presence of winds is intricate. Our findings emphasise the need for X-ray observations of a larger sample of UV-selected quasars with confirmed strong emission-line outflows to unravel the nuanced interplay between winds and X-ray emission.
title The X-ray properties of the most luminous quasars with strong emission-line outflows
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.06793