Quasar outflows are fundamental components of quasar environments that might play an important role in feedback to galaxy evolution .
We report on the emergence of a remarkable new outflow absorption-line system in the quasar PG1411+442 ( redshift \sim 0.089 ) detected in the UV and visible with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph , respectively .
This new ‘ ‘ transient ’ ’ system contains thousands of lines , including Fe ii and Fe ii * from excited states up to 3.89 eV , H i * Balmer lines , Na i D \lambda 5890,5896 , and the first detection of He i * \lambda 5876 in a quasar .
The transient absorber is spatially inhomogeneous and compact , with sizes \lesssim 0.003 pc , based on covering fractions on the quasar continuum source ranging from \sim 0.45 in strong UV lines to \sim 0.04 in Na i D . cloudy photoionization simulations show that large total column densities \log N _ { H } ( { cm } ^ { -2 } ) \gtrsim 23.4 and an intense radiation field \lesssim 0.4 pc from the quasar are needed to produce the observed lines in thick zones of both fully-ionised and partially-ionised gas .
The densities are conservatively \log n _ { H } ( { cm } ^ { -3 } ) \gtrsim 7 based on Fe ii * , H i * , and He i * but they might reach \log n _ { H } ( { cm } ^ { -3 } ) \gtrsim 10 based on Na i D. The transient lines appear at roughly the same velocity shift , v \sim - 1900 km s ^ { -1 } , as a ‘ ‘ mini-BAL ’ ’ outflow detected previously , but with narrower Doppler widths , b \sim 100 km s ^ { -1 } , and larger column densities in more compact outflow structures .
We propose that the transient lines identify a clumpy outflow from the broad emission-line region that , at its current speed and location , is still gravitationally bound to the central black hole .