Implications of dramatic broad absorption line variability in the quasar FBQS J1408+3054

We have observed a dramatic change in the spectrum of the formerly heavily absorbed ‘overlapping-trough’ iron low-ionization broad absorption line (FeLoBAL) quasar FBQS J1408+3054. Over a time span of between 0.6 to 5 rest-frame years, the Mgii trough outflowing at 12,000 km s 1 decreased in equivalent width by a factor of two and the Feii troughs at the same velocity disappeared. The most likely explanation for the variability is that a structure in the BAL outflow moved out of our line of sight to the ultraviolet continuum emitting region of the quasar’s accretion disk. Given the size of that region, this structure must have a transverse velocity of between 2600 km s 1 and 22,000 km s 1 . In the context of a simple outflow model, we show that this BAL structure is located between approximately 5800 and 46,000 Schwarzschild radii from the black hole. That distance corresponds to 1.7 to 14 pc, 11