Unification of X-ray winds in Seyfert galaxies: from ultra-fast outflows to warm absorbers. (arXiv:1212.4851v1 [astro-ph.HE])

Unification of X-ray winds in Seyfert galaxies: from ultra-fast outflows to warm absorbers. (arXiv:1212.4851v1 [astro-ph.HE]):
The existence of ionized X-ray absorbing layers of gas along the line of
sight to the nuclei of Seyfert galaxies is a well established observational
fact. This material is systematically outflowing and shows a large range in
parameters. However, its actual nature and dynamics are still not clear. In
order to gain insights into these important issues we performed a literature
search for papers reporting the parameters of the soft X-ray warm absorbers
(WAs) in 35 type 1 Seyferts and compared their properties to those of the
ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) detected in the same sample. The fraction of sources
with WAs is >60%, consistent with previous studies. The fraction of sources
with UFOs is >34%, >67% of which also show WAs. The large dynamic range
obtained when considering all the absorbers together allows us, for the first
time, to investigate general relations among them. In particular, we find
significant correlations indicating that the closer the absorber is to the
central black hole, the higher the ionization, column, outflow velocity and
consequently the mechanical power. The absorbers continuously populate the
whole parameter space, with the WAs and the UFOs lying always at the two ends
of the distribution. This strongly suggest that these absorbers, often
considered of different types, could actually represent parts of a single
large-scale stratified outflow observed at different locations from the black
hole. The observed parameters and correlations are consistent with both
radiation pressure through Compton scattering and MHD processes contributing to
the outflow acceleration, the latter playing a major role. Most of the
absorbers, especially the UFOs, have a sufficiently high mechanical power to
significantly contribute to AGN feedback.