Detection of a second high-velocity component in the highly ionized wind from PG 1211+143

An extended XMM–Newton observation of the luminous narrow line Seyfert galaxy PG1211+143 in 2014 has revealed a more complex highly ionized, high-velocity outflow. The detection of previously unresolved spectral structure in Fe K absorption finds a second outflow velocity component of the highly ionized wind, with an outflow velocity of v ∼ 0.066 ± 0.003c, in addition to a still higher velocity outflow of v ∼ 0.129 ± 0.002c consistent with that first seen in 2001. We note that chaotic accretion, consisting of many prograde and retrograde events, offers an intriguing explanation of the dual velocity wind. In that context the persisting outflow velocities could relate to physically distinct orientations of the inner accretion flow, with prograde accretion yielding a higher launch velocity than retrograde accretion in a ratio close to that observed.