The SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper Reverberation Mapping Project: C iv Broad Absorption Line Acceleration in the Quasar SBS 1408+544

We present the results of an investigation of a highly variable C iv broad absorption line (BAL) feature in spectra of the quasar SBS 1408+544 (z = 2.337) that shows a significant shift in velocity over time. This source was observed as a part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Reverberation Mapping project and the SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper Reverberation Mapping project, and has been included in two previous studies, both of which identified significant variability in a high-velocity C iv BAL on timescales of just a few days in the quasar rest frame. Using ∼130 spectra acquired over 8 yr of spectroscopic monitoring with SDSS, we have determined that this BAL is not only varying in strength, but is also systematically shifting to higher velocities. Using cross-correlation methods, we measure the velocity shifts (and corresponding acceleration) of the BAL over a wide range of timescales, measuring an overall velocity shift of Δ v = − 683 − 84 + 89 km s⁻¹ over the 8 yr monitoring period. This corresponds to an average rest-frame acceleration of a = 1.04 − 0.13 + 0.14 cm s⁻², though the magnitude of the acceleration on shorter timescales is not constant throughout. We place our measurements in the context of BAL-acceleration models and examine various possible causes of the observed velocity shift.