1997/11/03 by Geraint F. Lewis, Kunegunda E. Belle · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Absorption (acoustics) #Absorption spectroscopy #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Gravitational microlensing #Impact of Light on Environment and Health #Line (geometry) #Optics #Physics #Quasar #Spectral line #Stars #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01415.x
7 pages, 4 figures (included), Latex (mn.sty), Submitted to MNRAS
arxiv created 1997/11/03 · openalex publication_date 1998/06/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The physical nature of the material responsible for the high-velocity broad absorption line (BAL) features seen in a small fraction of quasar spectra has been the subject of debate since their discovery. This has been especially compounded by the lack of observational probes of the absorbing region. In this paper we examine the role of ‘microlenses’ in external galaxies in the observed variability in the profiles of BALs in multiply imaged quasars. Utilizing realistic models for both the BAL region and the action of an ensemble of microlensing masses, we demonstrate that stars at cosmological distances can provide an important probe of the physical state and structure of material at the heart of these complex systems. Applying these results to the macrolensed BAL quasar system H1413+117, the observed spectral variations are readily reproduced, but without the fine-tuning requirements of earlier studies which employ more simplistic models.