VLT/X-Shooter Survey of BAL Quasars: Large Distance Scale and AGN
  Feedback
  We conducted a survey of quasar outflows using the VLT/X-shooter
spectrograph. When choosing the 14 BAL and mini-BALs comprising this sample,
the data did not cover the S IV and S IV* troughs, whose ratio can be used to
determine the distance of the outflows from the central source (R). Therefore,
this "Blind Survey" is unbiased towards a particular distance scale. Out of the
eight outflows where R can be measured, six have R > 100 pc (spanning the range
100-4500 pc), one has R > 10 pc, and only one (at R < 60 pc) is compatible with
a much smaller R scale. At least two of the outflows have a kinetic luminosity
greater than 0.5% of their Eddington luminosity, implying that they are able to
provide significant AGN feedback. The outflows span a range of 0 to -10000 km
s$^{-1}$ in velocity; total column density between 10$^{20}$ - 10$^{22.5}$
cm$^{-2}$ ; ionization parameter ($U_H$ ) in the range 0.01 - 1; and electron
number density between 10$^3$ - 10$^{5.5}$ cm$^{-3}$ , with one upper and one
lower limit. The results of this survey can be extrapolated to the majority of
BAL outflows, implying that most of these outflows are situated far away from
the AGN accretion disk; and that a significant portion of them can contribute
to AGN feedback processes.
