BROAD BALMER ABSORPTION LINE VARIABILITY: EVIDENCE OF GAS TRANSVERSE MOTION IN THE QSO SDSS J125942.80+121312.6

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report on the discovery of broad Balmer absorption lines variability in the QSO SDSS J125942.80+121312.6, based on the optical and near-infrared spectra taken from the SDSS-I, SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), and TripleSpec observations over a timescale of 5.8 years in the QSO's rest-frame. The blueshifted absorption profile of Hβ shows a variation of more than 5σ at a high velocity portion ( > 3000 km s − 1 ?> ) of the trough. We perform a detailed analysis for the physical conditions of the absorber using Balmer lines as well as metastable He i and optical Fe ii absorptions (λ4233 from b4P5/2 level and λ5169 from a6S5/2) at the same velocity. These Fe ii lines are identified in the QSO spectra for the first time. According to the photoionization simulations, we estimate a gas density of n ( H ) ≈ 10 9.1 cm − 3 ?> and a column density of N col ( H ) ≈ 10 23 cm − 2 ?> for the BOSS data, but the model fails to predict the variations of ionic column densities between the SDSS and BOSS observations if changes in ionizing flux are assumed. We thus propose transverse motion of the absorbing gas being the cause of the observed broad Balmer absorption line variability. In fact, we find that the changes in covering factors of the absorber can well-reproduce all of the observed variations. The absorber is estimated ∼0.94 pc away from the central engine, which is where the outflow likely experiences deceleration due to the collision with the surrounding medium. This scheme is consistent with the argument that LoBAL QSOs may represent the transition from obscured star-forming galaxies to classic QSOs.