Major Contributor to Agn Feedback: VLT X-Shooter Observations of S Iv Balqso Outflows

We present the most energetic BALQSO outflow measured to date, with a kinetic luminosity of at least 10 46 erg s −1 , which is 5% of the bolometric luminosity of this high Eddington ratio quasar. The associated mass-flow rate is 400 solar masses per year. Such kinetic luminosity and mass-flow rate should provide strong active galactic nucleus feedback effects. The outflow is located at about 300 pc from the quasar and has a velocity of roughly 8000 km s −1 . Our distance and energetic measurements are based in large part on the identification and measurement of S iv and S iv * broad absorption lines (BALs). The use of this high-ionization species allows us to generalize the result to the majority of high-ionization BALQSOs that are identified by their C iv absorption. We also report the energetics of two other outflows seen in another object using the same technique. The distances of all three outflows from the central source (100–2000 pc) suggest that we observe BAL troughs much farther away from the central source than the assumed acceleration region of these outflows (0.01–0.1 pc).