arXiv subjects

S. Paltani

Publications and source records attributed to S. Paltani.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 VIII. XMM-Newton's EPIC detailed view of an unexpected variable multilayer absorber

In 2013 we conducted a large multi-wavelength campaign on the archetypical Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. Unexpectedly, this usually unobscured source appeared strongly absorbed in the soft X-rays during the entire campaign, and signatures of new and strong outflows were present in the almost simultaneous UV HST/COS data. Here we carry out a comprehensive spectral analysis of all available XMM-Newton observations of NGC 5548 (for a total of ~763 ks) in combination with 3 simultaneous NuSTAR obs. We obtain a best-fit composed by i) a weakly varying flat (Gamma~1.5-1.7) power-law component; ii) a constant, cold reflection (FeK + continuum) component; iii) a soft excess, possibly due to thermal Comptonization; and iv) a constant, ionized scattered emission-line dominated component. Our main findings are that, during the 2013 campaign, the first 3 of these components appear to be partially covered by a heavy and variable obscurer located along the l.o.s. that is consistent with a multilayer of cold and mildly ionized gas. We characterize in detail the short timescale (~ks-to-days) spectral variability of this new obscurer, and find it is mostly due to a combination of Nh and Cf variations, on top of intrinsic power-law variations. In addition, our best-fit spectrum is left with several (but marginal) absorption features at rest-frame energies ~6.7-6.9 keV and ~8 keV, as well as a weak broad emission line feature redwards of the 6.4 keV emission line. These could indicate a more complex underlying model, e.g. a P-Cygni-type profile if allowing for a large velocity and wide-angle outflow. These findings are consistent with a picture where the obscurer represents the manifestation along the l.o.s. of a multilayer of gas that is likely outflowing at high speed, and simultaneously producing heavy obscuration and scattering in the X-rays and broad absorption features in the UV.

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arXiv2016

The XXL Survey: VI. The 1000 brightest X-ray point sources

X-ray extragalactic surveys are ideal laboratories for the study of the evolution and clustering of active galactic nuclei (AGN). The XXL Survey spans two fields of a combined 50 $deg^2$ observed for more than 6Ms with XMM-Newton, occupying the parameter space between deep surveys and very wide area surveys; at the same time it benefits from a wealth of ancillary data. This paper marks the first release of the XXL point source catalogue selected in the 2-10 keV energy band with limiting flux $F_{2-10keV}=4.8\cdot10^{-14}\rm{erg\,s^{-1}\,cm^{-2}}$. We use both public and proprietary data sets to identify the counterparts of the X-ray point-like sources and improved upon the photometric redshift determination for AGN by applying a Random Forest classification trained to identify for each object the optimal photometric redshift model library. We also assign a probability to each source to be a star or an outlier. We model with Bayesian analysis the X-ray spectra assuming a power-law model with the presence of an absorbing medium. We find an average unabsorbed photon index of $Γ=1.85$ and average hydrogen column density $\log{N_{H}}=21.07 cm^{-2}$. We find no trend of $Γ$ or $N_H$ with redshift and a fraction of 26% absorbed sources ($\log N_{H}>22$). We show that the XXL-1000-AGN number counts extended the number counts of the COSMOS survey to higher fluxes and are fully consistent with the Euclidean expectation. We constrain the intrinsic luminosity function of AGN in the 2-10 keV energy band where the unabsorbed X-ray flux is estimated from the X-ray spectral fit up to z=3. Finally, we demonstrate the presence of a supercluster size structure at redshift 0.14, identified by means of percolation analysis of the XXL-1000-AGN sample. The XXL survey, reaching a medium flux limit and covering a wide area is a stepping stone between current deep fields and planned wide area surveys.

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arXiv2016

A comprehensive analysis of the hard X-ray spectra of bright Seyfert galaxies

Hard X-ray spectra of 28 bright Seyfert galaxies observed with INTEGRAL were analyzed together with the X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton, Suzaku and RXTE. These broad-band data were fitted with a model assuming a thermal Comptonization as a primary continuum component. We tested several model options through a fitting of the Comptonized continuum accompanied by a complex absorption and a Compton reflection. Both the large data set used and the model space explored allowed us to accurately determine a mean temperature kTe of the electron plasma, the Compton parameter y and the Compton reflection strength R for the majority of objects in the sample. Our main finding is that a vast majority of the sample (20 objects) is characterized by kTe < 100 keV, and only for two objects we found kTe > 200 keV. The median kTe for entire sample is 48(-14,+57) keV. The distribution of the y parameter is bimodal, with a broad component centered at ~0.8 and a narrow peak at ~1.1. A complex, dual absorber model improved the fit for all data sets, compared to a simple absorption model, reducing the fitted strength of Compton reflection by a factor of about 2. Modest reflection (median R ~0.32) together with a high ratio of Comptonized to seed photon fluxes point towards a geometry with a compact hard X-ray emitting region well separated from the accretion disc. Our results imply that the template Seyferts spectra used in AGN population synthesis models should be revised.

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arXiv2016

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548: VII. Swift study of obscuration and broadband continuum variability

We present our investigation into the long-term variability of the X-ray obscuration and optical-UV-X-ray continuum in the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548. In 2013 and 2014, the Swift observatory monitored NGC 5548 on average every day or two, with archival observations reaching back to 2005, totalling about 670 ks of observing time. Both broadband spectral modelling and temporal rms variability analysis are applied to the Swift data. We disentangle the variability caused by absorption, due to an obscuring weakly-ionised outflow near the disk, from variability of the intrinsic continuum components (the soft X-ray excess and the power-law) originating from the disk and its associated coronae. The spectral model that we apply to this extensive Swift data is the global model that we derived for NGC 5548 from analysis of the stacked spectra from our multi-satellite campaign of summer 2013 (including XMM-Newton, NuSTAR and HST). The results of our Swift study show that changes in the covering fraction of the obscurer is the primary and dominant cause of variability in the soft X-ray band on timescales of 10 days to ~ 5 months. The obscuring covering fraction of the X-ray source is found to range between 0.7 and nearly 1.0. The contribution of the soft excess component to the X-ray variability is often much less than that of the obscurer, but it becomes comparable when the optical-UV continuum flares up. We find that the soft excess is consistent with being the high-energy tail of the optical-UV continuum and can be explained by warm Comptonisation: up-scattering of the disk seed photons in a warm, optically thick corona as part of the inner disk. To this date, the Swift monitoring of NGC 5548 shows that the obscurer has been continuously present in our line of sight for at least 4 years (since at least February 2012).

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arXiv2016

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey First Data Release: spectra and spectroscopic redshifts of 698 objects up to z~6 in CANDELS

This paper describes the first data release (DR1) of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). The DR1 includes all low-resolution spectroscopic data obtained in 276.9 arcmin2 of the CANDELS-COSMOS and CANDELS-ECFDS survey areas, including accurate spectroscopic redshifts z_spec and individual spectra obtained with VIMOS on the ESO-VLT. A total of 698 objects have a measured redshift, with 677 galaxies, two type-I AGN and a small number of 19 contaminating stars. The targets of the spectroscopic survey are selected primarily on the basis of their photometric redshifts to ensure a broad population coverage. About 500 galaxies have z_spec>2, 48 with z_spec>4, and the highest reliable redshifts reach beyond z_spec=6. This dataset approximately doubles the number of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts at z>3 in these fields. We discuss the general properties of the sample in terms of the spectroscopic redshift distribution, the distribution of Lyman-alpha equivalent widths, and physical properties including stellar masses M_star and star formation rates (SFR) derived from spectral energy distribution fitting with the knowledge of z_spec. We highlight the properties of the most massive star-forming galaxies, noting the large range in spectral properties, with Lyman-alpha in emission or in absorption, and in imaging properties with compact, multi-component or pair morphologies. We present the catalogue database and data products. All data are publicly available and can be retrieved from a dedicated query-based database available at http://cesam.lam.fr/vuds.

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arXiv2016

The 5 - 10 keV AGN luminosity function at 0.01<z<4.0

The active galactic nuclei X-ray luminosity function traces actively accreting supermassive black holes and is essential for the study of the properties of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) population, black hole evolution, and galaxy-black hole coevolution. Up to now, the AGN luminosity function has been estimated several times in soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard X-rays (2-10 keV). AGN selection in these energy ranges often suffers from identification and redshift incompleteness and, at the same time, photoelectric absorption can obscure a significant amount of the X-ray radiation. We estimate the evolution of the luminosity function in the 5-10 keV band, where we effectively avoid the absorbed part of the spectrum, rendering absorption corrections unnecessary up to NH=10^23 cm^-2. Our dataset is a compilation of six wide, and deep fields: MAXI, HBSS, XMM-COSMOS, Lockman Hole, XMM-CDFS, AEGIS-XD, Chandra-COSMOS, and Chandra-CDFS. This extensive sample of ~1110 AGN (0.01<z<4.0, 41<log L_x<46) is 98% redshift complete with 68% spectroscopic redshifts. We use Bayesian analysis to select the best parametric model from simple pure luminosity and pure density evolution to more complicated luminosity and density evolution and luminosity-dependent density evolution. We estimate the model parameters that describe best our dataset separately for each survey and for the combined sample. We show that, according to Bayesian model selection, the preferred model for our dataset is the luminosity-dependent density evolution (LDDE). Our estimation of the AGN luminosity function does not require any assumption on the AGN absorption and is in good agreement with previous works in the 2-10 keV energy band based on X-ray hardness ratios to model the absorption in AGN up to redshift three. Our sample does not show evidence of a rapid decline of the AGN luminosity function up to redshift four. [abridged]

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arXiv2016

The VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey: Ly$α$ Emission and Stellar Populations of Star-Forming Galaxies at 2<z<2.5

The aim of this paper is to investigate spectral and photometric properties of 854 faint ($i_{AB}$<~25 mag) star-forming galaxies (SFGs) at 2 $0Å), and Ly$α$ emitters (LAEs; EW$\ge$20Å). The fraction of LAEs at these redshifts is $\sim$10%, which is consistent with previous observations. We compared best-fit SED-estimated stellar parameters of the SFG$_{\rm N}$, SFG$_{\rm L}$ and LAE samples. For the luminosities probed here ($\sim$L$^*$), we find that galaxies with and without Ly$α$ in emission have small but significant differences in their SED-based properties. We find that LAEs have less dust, and lower star-formation rates (SFR) compared to non-LAEs. We also find that LAEs are less massive compared to non-LAEs, though the difference is smaller and less significant compared to the SFR and E$_{\rm s}$(B-V). [abridged]

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arXiv2015

The XXL Survey: I. Scientific motivations - XMM-Newton observing plan - Follow-up observations and simulation programme

We present the XXL Survey, the largest XMM programme totaling some 6.9 Ms to date and involving an international consortium of roughly 100 members. The XXL Survey covers two extragalactic areas of 25 deg2 each at a point-source sensitivity of ~ 5E-15 erg/sec/cm2 in the [0.5-2] keV band (completeness limit). The survey's main goals are to provide constraints on the dark energy equation of state from the space-time distribution of clusters of galaxies and to serve as a pathfinder for future, wide-area X-ray missions. We review science objectives, including cluster studies, AGN evolution, and large-scale structure, that are being conducted with the support of approximately 30 follow-up programmes. We describe the 542 XMM observations along with the associated multi-lambda and numerical simulation programmes. We give a detailed account of the X-ray processing steps and describe innovative tools being developed for the cosmological analysis. The paper provides a thorough evaluation of the X-ray data, including quality controls, photon statistics, exposure and background maps, and sky coverage. Source catalogue construction and multi-lambda associations are briefly described. This material will be the basis for the calculation of the cluster and AGN selection functions, critical elements of the cosmological and science analyses. The XXL multi-lambda data set will have a unique lasting legacy value for cosmological and extragalactic studies and will serve as a calibration resource for future dark energy studies with clusters and other X-ray selected sources. With the present article, we release the XMM XXL photon and smoothed images along with the corresponding exposure maps. The XMM XXL observation list (Table B.1) is available in electronic form at the CDS. The present paper is the first in a series reporting results of the XXL-XMM survey.

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arXiv2015

The XXL Survey. XIII. Baryon content of the bright cluster sample

Traditionally, galaxy clusters have been expected to retain all the material accreted since their formation epoch. For this reason, their matter content should be representative of the Universe as a whole, and thus their baryon fraction should be close to the Universal baryon fraction. We make use of the sample of the 100 brightest galaxy clusters discovered in the XXL Survey to investigate the fraction of baryons in the form of hot gas and stars in the cluster population. We measure the gas masses of the detected halos and use a mass--temperature relation directly calibrated using weak-lensing measurements for a subset of XXL clusters to estimate the halo mass. We find that the weak-lensing calibrated gas fraction of XXL-100-GC clusters is substantially lower than was found in previous studies using hydrostatic masses. Our best-fit relation between gas fraction and mass reads $f_{\rm gas,500}=0.055_{-0.006}^{+0.007}\left(M_{\rm 500}/10^{14}M_\odot\right)^{0.21_{-0.10}^{+0.11}}$. The baryon budget of galaxy clusters therefore falls short of the Universal baryon fraction by about a factor of two at $r_{\rm 500}$. Our measurements require a hydrostatic bias $1-b=M_X/M_{\rm WL}=0.72_{-0.07}^{+0.08}$ to match the gas fraction obtained using lensing and hydrostatic equilibrium. Comparing our gas fraction measurements with the expectations from numerical simulations, our results favour an extreme feedback scheme in which a significant fraction of the baryons are expelled from the cores of halos. This model is, however, in contrast with the thermodynamical properties of observed halos, which might suggest that weak-lensing masses are overestimated. We note that a mass bias $1-b=0.58$ as required to reconcile Planck CMB and cluster counts should translate into an even lower baryon fraction, which poses a major challenge to our current understanding of galaxy clusters. [Abridged]

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arXiv2015

The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of galaxies at z=3.3 in the VUDS-LBC/COSMOS field

The Lyman continuum (LyC) flux escaping from high-z galaxies into the IGM is a fundamental quantity to understand the physical processes involved in the reionization epoch. We have investigated a sample of star-forming galaxies at z~3.3 in order to search for possible detections of LyC photons escaping from galaxy halos. UV deep imaging in the COSMOS field obtained with the prime focus camera LBC at the LBT telescope was used together with a catalog of spectroscopic redshifts obtained by the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS) to build a sample of 45 galaxies at z~3.3 with L>0.5L*. We obtained deep LBC images of galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts in the interval 3.27 28% but a detailed analysis of their properties reveals that, with the exception of two marginal detections (S/N~2) in the U band, all the other 8 galaxies are most likely contaminated by the UV flux of low-z interlopers located close to the high-z targets. The average escape fraction derived from the stacking of the cleaned sample was constrained to fesc_rel<2%. The implied HI photo-ionization rate is a factor two lower than that needed to keep the IGM ionized at z~3, as observed in the Lyman forest of high-z QSO spectra or by the proximity effect. These results support a scenario where high redshift, relatively bright (L>0.5L*) star-forming galaxies alone are unable to sustain the level of ionization observed in the cosmic IGM at z~3. Star-forming galaxies at higher redshift and at fainter luminosities (L<<L*) can be the major contributors to the reionization of the Universe only if their physical properties are subject to rapid changes from z~3 to z~6-10. Alternatively, ionizing sources could be discovered looking for fainter sources among the AGN population at high-z.

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arXiv2015

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548: V. A clear view of the X-ray narrow emission lines

Context. Our consortium performed an extensive multi-wavelength campaign of the nearby Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 in 2013-14. The source appeared unusually heavily absorbed in the soft X-rays, and signatures of outflowing absorption were also present in the UV. He-like triplets of neon, oxygen and nitrogen, and radiative recombination continuum (RRC) features were found to dominate the soft X-ray spectrum due to the low continuum flux. Aims. Here we focus on characterising these narrow emission features using data obtained from the XMM-Newton RGS (770 ks stacked spectrum). Methods. We use SPEX for our initial analysis of these features. Self-consistent photoionisation models from Cloudy are then compared with the data to characterise the physical conditions of the emitting region. Results. Outflow velocity discrepancies within the O VII triplet lines can be explained if the X-ray narrow-line region (NLR) in NGC 5548 is absorbed by at least one of the six warm absorber components found by previous analyses. The RRCs allow us to directly calculate a temperature of the emitting gas of a few eV ($\sim10^{4}$ K), favouring photoionised conditions. We fit the data with a Cloudy model of log $ξ= 1.45 \pm 0.05$ erg cm s$^{-1}$, log $N_H = 22.9 \pm 0.4$ cm$^{-2}$ and log v$_{turb} = 2.25 \pm 0.5$ km s$^{-1}$ for the emitting gas; this is the first time the X-ray NLR gas in this source has been modelled so comprehensively. This allows us to estimate the distance from the central source to the illuminated face of the emitting clouds as $13.9 \pm 0.6$ pc, consistent with previous work.

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arXiv2015

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548 IV. The short-term variability of the outflows

During an extensive multiwavelength campaign that we performed in 2013-14 the prototypical Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 has been found in an unusual condition of heavy and persistent obscuration. The newly discovered "obscurer" absorbs most of the soft X-ray continuum along our line of sight and lowers the ionizing luminosity received by the classical warm absorber. Here we present the analysis of the high resolution X-ray spectra collected with XMM-Newton and Chandra throughout the campaign, which are suitable to investigate the variability of both the obscurer and the classical warm absorber. The time separation between these X-ray observations range from 2 days to 8 months. On these timescales the obscurer is variable both in column density and in covering fraction. This is consistent with the picture of a patchy wind. The most significant variation occurred in September 2013 when the source brightened for two weeks. A higher and steeper intrinsic continuum and a lower obscurer covering fraction are both required to explain the spectral shape during the flare. We suggest that a geometrical change of the soft X-ray source behind the obscurer cause the observed drop in the covering fraction. Due to the higher soft X-ray continuum level the September 2013 Chandra spectrum is the only X ray spectrum of the campaign where individual features of the warm absorber could be detected. The spectrum shows absorption from Fe-UTA, \ion{O}{iv}, and \ion{O}{v}, consistent to belong to the lower-ionization counterpart of the historical NGC 5548 warm absorber. Hence, we confirm that the warm absorber has responded to the drop in the ionizing luminosity caused by the obscurer.

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arXiv2015

Discovering extremely compact and metal-poor, star-forming dwarf galaxies out to z ~ 0.9 in the VIMOS Ultra-Deep Survey

We report the discovery of 31 low-luminosity (-14.5 > M_{AB}(B) > -18.8), extreme emission line galaxies (EELGs) at 0.2 < z < 0.9 identified by their unusually high rest-frame equivalent widths (100 < EW[OIII] < 1700 A) as part of the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). VIMOS optical spectra of unprecedented sensitivity ($I_{AB}$ ~ 25 mag) along with multiwavelength photometry and HST imaging are used to investigate spectrophotometric properties of this unique sample and explore, for the first time, the very low stellar mass end (M* < 10^8 M$_{\odot}$) of the luminosity-metallicity (LZR) and mass-metallicity (MZR) relations at z < 1. Characterized by their extreme compactness (R50 < 1 kpc), low stellar mass and enhanced specific star formation rates (SFR/M* ~ 10^{-9} - 10^{-7} yr^{-1}), the VUDS EELGs are blue dwarf galaxies likely experiencing the first stages of a vigorous galaxy-wide starburst. Using T_e-sensitive direct and strong-line methods, we find that VUDS EELGs are low-metallicity (7.5 < 12+log(O/H) < 8.3) galaxies with high ionization conditions, including at least three EELGs showing HeII 4686A emission and four EELGs of extremely metal-poor (<10% solar) galaxies. The LZR and MZR followed by EELGs show relatively large scatter, being broadly consistent with the extrapolation toward low luminosity and mass from previous studies at similar redshift. However, we find evidences that galaxies with younger and more vigorous star formation -- as characterized by their larger EWs, ionization and sSFR -- tend to be more metal-poor at a given stellar mass.

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arXiv2015

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548: III. The high-energy view with NuSTAR and INTEGRAL

We describe the analysis of the seven broad-band X-ray continuum observations of the archetypal Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 that were obtained with XMM-Newton or Chandra, simultaneously with high-energy (> 10 keV) observations with NuSTAR and INTEGRAL. These data were obtained as part of a multiwavelength campaign undertaken from the summer of 2013 till early 2014. We find evidence of a high-energy cut-off in at least one observation, which we attribute to thermal Comptonization, and a constant reflected component that is likely due to neutral material at least a few light months away from the continuum source. We confirm the presence of strong, partial covering X-ray absorption as the explanation for the sharp decrease in flux through the soft X-ray band. The obscurers appear to be variable in column density and covering fraction on time scales as short as weeks. A fit of the average spectrum over the range 0.3-400 keV with a realistic Comptonization model indicates the presence of a hot corona with a temperature of 40(+40,-10) keV and an optical depth of 2.7(+0.7,-1.2) if a spherical geometry is assumed.

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arXiv2015

Accretion, ejection and reprocessing in supermassive black holes

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of active galactic nuclei. For a summary, we refer to the paper.

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arXiv2015

Anatomy of the AGN in NGC 5548: I. A global model for the broadband spectral energy distribution

An extensive multi-satellite campaign on NGC 5548 has revealed this archetypal Seyfert-1 galaxy to be in an exceptional state of persistent heavy absorption. Our observations taken in 2013-2014 with XMM-Newton, Swift, NuSTAR, INTEGRAL, Chandra, HST and two ground-based observatories have together enabled us to establish that this unexpected phenomenon is caused by an outflowing stream of weakly ionised gas (called the obscurer), extending from the vicinity of the accretion disk to the broad-line region. In this work we present the details of our campaign and the data obtained by all the observatories. We determine the spectral energy distribution of NGC 5548 from near-infrared to hard X-rays by establishing the contribution of various emission and absorption processes taking place along our line of sight towards the central engine. We thus uncover the intrinsic emission and produce a broadband continuum model for both obscured (average summer 2013 data) and unobscured ($<$ 2011) epochs of NGC 5548. Our results suggest that the intrinsic NIR/optical/UV continuum is a single Comptonised component with its higher energy tail creating the 'soft X-ray excess'. This component is compatible with emission from a warm, optically-thick corona as part of the inner accretion disk. We then investigate the effects of the continuum on the ionisation balance and thermal stability of photoionised gas for unobscured and obscured epochs.

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arXiv2014

The stellar mass - halo mass relation from galaxy clustering in VUDS: a high star formation efficiency at z~3

The relation between the galaxy stellar mass M_star and the dark matter halo mass M_h gives important information on the efficiency in forming stars and assembling stellar mass in galaxies. We present the stellar mass to halo mass ratio (SMHR) measurements at redshifts 2<z<5, obtained from the VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey. We use halo occupation distribution (HOD) modelling of clustering measurements on ~3000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts to derive the dark matter halo mass M_h, and SED fitting over a large set of multi-wavelength data to derive the stellar mass M_star and compute the SMHR=M_star/M_h. We find that the SMHR ranges from 1% to 2.5% for galaxies with M_star=1.3x10^9 M_sun to M_star=7.4x10^9 M_sun in DM halos with M_h=1.3x10^{11} M_sun} to M_h=3x10^{11} M_sun. We derive the integrated star formation efficiency (ISFE) of these galaxies and find that the star formation efficiency is a moderate 6-9% for lower mass galaxies while it is relatively high at 16% for galaxies with the median stellar mass of the sample ~7x10^9 M_sun. The lower ISFE at lower masses may indicate that some efficient means of suppressing star formation is at work (like SNe feedback), while the high ISFE for the average galaxy at z~3 is indicating that these galaxies are efficiently building-up their stellar mass at a key epoch in the mass assembly process. We further infer that the average mass galaxy at z~3 will start experiencing star formation quenching within a few hundred millions years.

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arXiv2014

ASTRO-H White Paper - AGN Winds

In this white paper we describe the prospects for ASTRO-H for the study of outflows from active galactic nuclei. The most important breakthroughs in this field are expected to arise from the high spectral resolution and sensitivity in the Fe-K band, combined with broad-band sensitivity over the full X-ray band and spectral capabilities also at lower energies. The sensitivity in the Fe-K region allows to extend the absorption measure distribution of the outflow out to the highest ionisation states accessible, where observations with current X-ray missions indicate that most of the outflowing gas is to be found. Due to the high-resolution and sensitivity it will also be able to give the definitive proof for the existence of ultra-fast outflows, and if so, characterise their physical properties in great detail. These ultra-fast outflows carry very large amounts of energy and momentum, and are of fundamental importance for feedback studies. We show how the ASTRO-H observations in general can help to constrain numerical models for outflows. The link to reflection and emission processes is also discussed, as well as the possible relation between outflows and relativistic emission lines. Finally, we discuss the prospects for other related categories of objects like BAL quasars, partially covered sources and Compton thick outflows.

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