Program: GN-2023A-Q-230

Blackhole / galaxy feedback is a critical component of galaxy formation models, but the form that feedback takes is not known. Broad absorption line quasars (BALQs) show unambiguous evidence for outflowing gas in their rest-frame UV spectra, but until the development of the spectral synthesis code SimBAL it was not possible to evaluate their potential broadly as feedback candidates. We propose to obtain near-infrared spectra of a sample of FeLoBALs, a subclass of BALQ with thousands of rest-frame UV lines of Fe II, the BALQ redshifts place important diagnostic lines at wavelengths between 1.1 and 1.8 microns. We will use the Balmer, [OIII], and FeII emission lines to test whether the relationship between the outflow properties and Eddington ratio established in a sample of z<1 quasars is replicated in higher redshift objects, and to map the expected dependence on luminosity and black hole mass. Gemini's large aperture, better seeing, and lower average water vapor is critically needed to complete observations of the fainter, low-accretion-rate subsample. This project will provide an important stepping stone to toward our ultimate goal of understanding the role of BAL outflows in quasar astrophsyics.