In active galactic nuclei ( AGN ) -galaxy co-evolution models , AGN winds and outflows are often invoked to explain why super-massive black holes and galaxies stop growing efficiently at a certain phase of their lives .
They are commonly referred to as the leading actors of feedback processes .
Evidence of ultra-fast ( v \mathrel { \hbox { \hbox to 0.0 pt { \hbox { \lower 4.0 pt \hbox { $ \sim$ } } } \hbox { $ > $ } } } 0. % 05 c ) outflows in the innermost regions of AGN has been collected in the past decade by sensitive X-ray observations for sizable samples of AGN , mostly at low redshift .
Here we present ultra-deep XMM- Newton and Chandra spectral data of an obscured ( N _ { H } \approx 2 \times 10 ^ { 23 } cm ^ { -2 } ) , intrinsically luminous ( L _ { 2 - 10 ~ { } keV } \approx 4 \times 10 ^ { 44 } erg s ^ { -1 } ) quasar ( named PID352 ) at z \approx 1.6 ( derived from the X-ray spectral analysis ) in the Chandra Deep Field-South .
The source is characterized by an iron emission and absorption line complex at observed energies of E \approx 2 - 3 keV .
While the emission line is interpreted as being due to neutral iron ( consistent with the presence of cold absorption ) , the absorption feature is due to highly ionized iron transitions ( FeXXV , FeXXVI ) with an outflowing velocity of 0.14 ^ { +0.02 } _ { -0.06 } c , as derived from photoionization models .
The mass outflow rate – \sim 2 M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } – is similar to the source accretion rate , and the derived mechanical energy rate is \sim 9.5 \times 10 ^ { 44 } erg s ^ { -1 } , corresponding to 9 % of the source bolometric luminosity .
PID352 represents one of the few cases where indications of X-ray outflowing gas have been observed at high redshift thus far .
This wind is powerful enough to provide feedback on the host galaxy .