Modeling Broad Absorption Line Quasars with Spectral Synthesis: Program Development and Analysis

Abstract

Quasars with broad absorption lines (BALQSOs) are often the target of outflow studies because these features are clear markers of energetic winds. Within this population is a class known as FeLoBALs, named for the FeII broad absorption lines they have along with the low ionization lines of the LoBAL class. They are a prime target for quantifying outflow strength because their multiple broad absorption lines allow for good constraints on outflow properties. To analyze these objects, SimBAL, a program for creating synthetic spectra from a grid of Cloudy models, is used. It matches real spectra with the synthetic to determine physical parameters of the lines, and thus the outflows, using all of the information the spectra contain. It is still in development, but it is planned to be released to the larger quasar wind community when it becomes feature complete. To aid in SimBAL's development and improvement, I have performed various alterations and analyses to aspects of the program, from how it stores and processes the Cloudy information to how it explores parameter space. I have presented several tests and features that will improve SimBAL's efficiency, accuracy, and usability, while also exploring facets of quasar outflows along the way.