Discovery of an Ultraviolet Counterpart to an Ultrafast X-Ray Outflow in the Quasar PG 1211+143

Abstract

We observed the quasar PG 1211+143 using the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope in 2015 April as part of a joint campaign with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Jansky Very Large Array. Our ultraviolet spectra cover the wavelength range 912–2100 Å. We find a broad absorption feature ( ) at an observed wavelength of 1240 Å. Interpreting this as H i Ly α , in the rest frame of PG 1211+143 ( z  = 0.0809), this corresponds to an outflow velocity of −16,980 (outflow redshift ), matching the moderate ionization X-ray absorption system detected in our Chandra observation and reported previously by Pounds et al. With a minimum H i column density of , and no absorption in other UV resonance lines, this Ly α absorber is consistent with arising in the same ultrafast outflow as the X-ray absorbing gas. The Ly α feature is weak or absent in archival ultraviolet spectra of PG 1211+143, strongly suggesting that this absorption is transient, and intrinsic to PG 1211+143. Such a simultaneous detection in two independent wavebands for the first time gives strong confirmation of the reality of an ultrafast outflow in an active galactic nucleus.