Related papers: Probing the time variability of five Fe low broad …

(abridged) Quasar absorption lines provide a precise test of the assumed constancy of the fundamental constants of physics. We have investigated potential changes in the fine-structure constant, alpha, and the proton-to-electron mass ratio,…

Broad absorption lines (BALs) are present in the spectra of ~20% of quasars (QSOs); this indicates fast outflows (up to 0.2c) that intercept the observer's line of sight. These QSOs can be distinguished again into radio-loud (RL) BAL QSOs…

We present a catalog of 5039 broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (QSOs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5 (DR5) QSO catalog that have absorption troughs covering a continuous velocity range >= 2000 km/s. We have fit…

We study the time variability (over $\le$7.3 yrs) of ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) detected in a sample of 64 C IV broad absorption line (BAL) quasars (with 80 distinct BAL components) monitored using the Southern African Large Telescope. By…

In this paper we present an analysis of absorption line variability in mini-BAL quasar LBQS 1206+1052. The SDSS spectrum demonstrates that the absorption troughs can be divided into two components of blueshift velocities of $\sim$700 km…

We study the X-ray and optical properties of 16 Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasars detected in about 3 degree square region common to the wide synoptic (W-1) component of the Canada-France-HawaiiTelescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) and the XMM…

In their Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 121302 (2004)] (also [Astron. Astrophys. 417, 853 (2004)]), Srianand et al. analysed optical spectra of heavy-element species in 23 absorption systems along background quasar sight-lines, reporting…

Recent XMM-Newton observations of the high-redshift, lensed, broad absorption line (BAL) quasi-stellar object APM 08279+5255, one of the most luminous objects in the universe, allowed the detection of a high column density absorber ($N_H…

We present the results of X-ray spectral analysis of two mini-BAL QSOs, PG 1126-041 and PG 1351+640, aimed at getting insights into the physics of quasar outflows. We find strong X-ray spectral variability on timescales of years. These…

We report a Chandra high-energy grating detection of a narrow, redshifted absorption line superimposed on the red wing of a broad Fe K line in the $z=0.297$ quasar E1821+643. The absorption line is detected at a confidence level, estimated…

We report the discovery of the faint (V=21.7) quasar QSO03027-0010 at z=2.808 in the vicinity of Q0302-003, one of the few quasars observed with STIS to study intergalactic HeII absorption. Together with another newly discovered QSO at…

We report on a variable high-velocity narrow absorption line outflow in the redshift 2.3 quasar J2123-0050. Five distinct outflow systems are detected with velocity shifts from -9710 to -14,050 km/s and CIV 1548,1551 line widths of FWHM =…

We report the results of a spectropolarimetric observation of the C IV mini-BAL in the quasar HS1603+3820. The observations were carried out with the FOCAS instrument on the Subaru telescope and yielded an extremely high polarization…

For the population of QSOs with broad ultraviolet absorption lines, we are just beginning to accumulate X-ray observations with enough counts for spectral analysis at CCD resolution. From a sample of eight QSOs [including four Broad…

The cosmological variability of alpha is probed from individual observations of pairs of FeII lines. This procedure allows a better control of the systematics and avoids the influence of the spectral shifts due to ionization inhomogeneities…

The usual interpetation of the spectrum of a BAL QSO is that a broad-band continuum from the central engine plus broad emission lines from a surrounding region (the BELR) emerges from near the center of the QSO, and broad absorption lines…

Broad Absorption Line (BAL) QSOs have been suggested to be youthful super-accretors based on their powerful radiatively driven absorbing outflows and often reddened continua. To test this hypothesis, we observed near IR spectra of the…

Aims. To obtain limits on the variation of the fine-structure constant alpha and the electron-to-proton mass ratio mu over different cosmological epochs. Methods. A new approach based on the comparison of redshifts of far infrared (FIR)…

Mrk 231, the nearest (z = 0.0422) quasar, hosts both a galactic-scale wind and a nuclear-scale iron low-ionization broad absorption line (FeLoBAL) outflow. We recently obtained a far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectrum of this object covering ~1150…

The Single Ion Differential alpha Measurement (SIDAM) method for measuring fine stucture variations (daa)and its figures of merit are illustrated together with the results produced by means of FeII absorption lines of QSO intervening…