Unification of X-ray winds in Seyfert galaxies: from ultra-fast outflows to warm absorbers

The existence of ionized X-ray absorbing layers of gas along the line of sight to the nuclei Seyfert galaxies is a well established observational fact. This material is systematically and shows a large range in parameters. However, its actual nature and dynamics still not clear. In order to gain insights into these important issues we performed a literature for papers reporting the parameters of the soft X-ray warm absorbers (WAs) in 35 type1 Seyferts and compared their properties to those of the ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) detected in same sample. The fraction of sources with WAs is >60 per cent, consistent with previous. The fraction of sources with UFOs is >34 per cent, >67 per cent of which also WAs. The large dynamic range obtained when considering all the absorbers together, several orders of magnitude in ionization, column, velocity and distance allows us, the first time, to investigate general relations among them. In particular, we find significant indicating that the closer the absorber is to the central black hole, the higher the, column, outflow velocity and consequently the mechanical power. In all the cases, absorbers continuously populate the whole parameter space, with the WAs and the UFOs always at the two ends of the distribution. These evidence strongly suggest that these, often considered of different types, could actually represent parts of a single large-scale outflow observed at different locations from the black hole. The UFOs are likely from the inner accretion disc and the WAs at larger distances, such as the outer disc/or torus. We argue that the observed parameters and correlations are, to date, consistent both radiation pressure through Compton scattering and magnetohydrodynamic processes to the outflow acceleration, the latter playing a major role. Most of the absorbers, the UFOs, show a sufficiently high mechanical power (at least approx 0. 5 per cent of the luminosity) to provide a significant contribution to active galactic nuclei (AGN) and thus to the evolution of the host galaxy. In this regard, we find possible evidence the interaction of the AGN wind with the surrounding environment on large scales.