Mapping a Quasar Outflow from Parsec to Kiloparsec Scales: A Combined HST Absorption and VLT Emission Investigation

Abstract

Linking nuclear winds to galactic-scale outflows remains a major observational challenge in understanding the multiscale physics of active galactic nuclei feedback. Here we present VLT/KMOS integral-field spectroscopy and SDSS observations of the $z=0.9655$ quasar PKS J0352$-$0711. Our analysis reveals complex, multi-ionization emission, including a fast, unresolved nuclear wind and a spatially resolved galactic-scale outflow. We integrate the [O III] emission properties with those deduced from the mini-broad-absorption-line outflows detected in HST/COS observations of this quasar. This unique combination of datasets allows us to trace, for the first time, the physical progression of a quasar outflow from $\sim$ 10 pc to 10 kpc. The multiscale kinematics support a unified evolutionary scenario where the inner, constant-velocity ($\sim -3800{\text{ km s}}^{-1}$) expansion of the wind is traced jointly in absorption ($\sim 9$ pc) and emission ($\gtrsim 40$ pc). As the wind propagates to $\sim$ 500 pc, the intermediate absorption system reveals a deceleration to $\sim -2100{\text{ km s}}^{-1}$, consistent with mass-loading from the interstellar medium. Finally, our spatially resolved observations capture the gas breaking out of the inner galaxy, in the form of a wide-angle blueshifted outflow expanding beyond 8 kpc, with a velocity of $\sim -1000{\text{ km s}}^{-1}$. Despite the three orders of magnitude variation in spatial scale, and a factor-of-four deceleration, the momentum fluxes remain consistent within uncertainties across all scales. These results suggest that the distinct outflow components represent the integrated history of a sustained feedback cycle from nuclear to galactic scales.

Accepted for publication in ApJ