FeLoBALs are a rare class of quasar outflows with low-ionization broad absorption lines (BALs), large column densities, and potentially large kinetic energies that might be important for `feedback to galaxy evolution. In order to probe the physical p
roperties of these outflows, we conducted a multiple-epoch, absorption line variability study of 12 FeLoBAL quasars spanning a redshift range between 0.7 and 1.9 over rest frame time-scales of approximately 10 d to 7.6 yr. We detect absorption line variability with greater than 8 sigma confidence in 3 out of the 12 sources in our sample over time-scales of 0.6 to 7.6 yr. Variable wavelength intervals are associated with ground and excited state Fe II multiplets, the Mg II 2796, 2803 doublet, Mg I 2852, and excited state Ni II multiplets. The observed variability along with evidence of saturation in the absorption lines favors transverse motions of gas across the line of sight (LOS) as the preferred scenario, and allows us to constrain the outflow distance from the supermassive black hole (SMBH) to be less than 69, 7, and 60 pc for our three variable sources. In combination with other studies, these results suggest that the outflowing gas in FeLoBAL quasars resides on a range of scales and includes matter within tens of parsecs of the central source.
The physical properties and dynamical behavior of Broad Absorption Line (BAL) outflows are crucial themes in understanding the connections between galactic centers and their hosts. FeLoBALs (identified with the presence of low-ionization Fe II BALs)
are a peculiar class of quasar outflows that constitute approximately 1% of the BAL population. With their large column densities and apparent outflow kinetic luminosities, FeLoBALs appear to be exceptionally powerful and are strong candidates for feedback in galaxy evolution. We conducted variability studies of 12 FeLoBAL quasars with emission redshifts between 0.69 and 1.93, spanning both weekly and multi-year timescales in the quasars rest frame. We detected absorption-line variability from low-ionization species (Fe II, Mg II) in four of our objects, with which we established a representative upper limit for the distance of the absorber from the supermassive black hole (SMBH) to be approximately 20 parsecs. Our goals are to understand the mechanisms producing the variability (e.g. ionization changes or gas traversing our line of sight) and place new constraints on the locations, structure, and kinetic energies of the outflows.
