The Physical Conditions of the Intrinsic N V Narrow Absorption Line
  Systems of Three Quasars
  We employ detailed photoionization models to infer the physical conditions of
intrinsic narrow absorption line systems found in high resolution spectra of
three quasars at z=2.6-3.0. We focus on a family of intrinsic absorbers
characterized by N V lines that are strong relative to the Ly-alpha lines. The
inferred physical conditions are similar for the three intrinsic N V absorbers,
with metallicities greater than 10 times the solar value (assuming a solar
abundance pattern), and with high ionization parameters (log U ~ 0). Thus, we
conclude that the unusual strength of the N V lines results from a combination
of partial coverage, a high ionization state, and high metallicity. We consider
whether dilution of the absorption lines by flux from the broad-emission line
region can lead us to overestimate the metallicities and we find that this is
an unlikely possibility. The high abundances that we infer are not surprising
in the context of scenarios in which metal enrichment takes place very early on
in massive galaxies. We estimate that the mass outflow rate in the absorbing
gas (which is likely to have a filamentary structure) is less than a few solar
masses per year under the most optimistic assumptions, although it may be
embedded in a much hotter, more massive outflow.
