Serendipitous Discovery of a Broad Absorption Line QSO at Z = 2.169

Abstract

We report the serendipitous discovery of a broad absorption line (BAL) QSO at z = 2.169, located 41" southwest of 3C 48. We present Keck Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectroscopy covering rest-frame wavelengths 1500-2300 Å. The C iv BAL has three components, and it extends to outflow velocities of at least 12,000 km s^-1. The BAL QSO has an intervening low-ionization metal-line absorption system at z = 1.667, which is likely to be a damped Lyalpha absorber. Hubble Space Telescope images show extended luminous material around the QSO, which could be either the host galaxy or the intervening system. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.