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SimBAL: Spectral Synthesis Analysis of Broad Absorption Line Quasars

Date:
-
Location:
Zoom
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s):
Karen Leighly (University of Oklahoma)

A significant fraction of quasars exhibit blueshifted broad

absorption lines (BALs) in their rest-UV spectra, indicating powerful

outflows emerging from the central engine. Despite more than 50 years

of study, the physical conditions of the outflowing gas are poorly

understood.  Our group has developed SimBAL, a novel spectral

synthesis fitting method for BAL quasar spectra that uses Bayesian

model calibration to compare synthetic to observed spectra. I will

describe the construction of SimBAL, and illustrate its unique

strengths by discussing the results from several projects.