Probing Black Hole Winds with SimBAL: Mapping the Physics of Broad Absorption Line Quasar Outflows

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• Hyunseop (Joseph) Choi (Université de Montréal)
• Thursday 10 April 2025, 11:30-12:00
• Ryle Meeting Room, KICC.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Steven Brereton.

KICC Special Seminar

Broad absorption line (BAL) quasars provide striking evidence of energetic winds driven by accreting supermassive black holes. These outflows are thought to play a crucial role in regulating black hole growth and the host star formation rate, as well as shaping the evolution of galaxies; however, their physical properties—such as radius and energetics—remain poorly constrained. Our group has developed SimBAL, a spectral synthesis tool that enables detailed, physically motivated modeling of BAL quasar spectra. It has allowed us to perform a detailed spectral analysis of a large sample of BAL quasars for the first time and to characterize multi-phase outflows in a quasar discovered at the Epoch of Reionization. I will demonstrate SimBAL’s unique strengths by discussing the results from several projects and how our group has taken a systematic approach to investigate the physics of black hole winds. Lastly, I will introduce the 4MOST–Gaia Purely Astrometric Quasar Survey, an upcoming spectroscopic survey uniquely designed to deliver the first large-scale, color-independent quasar reference sample.

This talk is part of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology Seminars series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• Institute of Astronomy Talk Lists
• Kavli Institute for Cosmology Talk Lists
• Ryle Meeting Room, KICC

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