Speaker
Description
Ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) from accreting supermassive black holes provide a direct probe of the coupling between inflowing matter and powerful winds emerging from the inner accretion flow. These relativistic disk winds are now recognized as a key ingredient linking black hole accretion physics to feedback on galactic environments. Recent high-resolution spectroscopy with XRISM/Resolve reveals complex absorption structures with multiple discrete velocity components and a clumpy, multiphase medium. These observations place new constraints on wind geometry, launching radii, and energetics in high-accretion regimes, supporting scenarios in which stratified disk winds originate close to the innermost stable circular orbit. Population studies of large AGN samples further show that UFO properties correlate with spectral line width, equivalent width, and outflow velocity, pointing to inhomogeneous, multi-component winds shaped by radiation, magnetic fields, and turbulence. A uniform meta-analysis of radio-quiet and radio-loud AGN indicates that powerful winds arise across both classes, suggesting a broadly shared physical mechanism operating in the central engine. Together, these results highlight how relativistic disk winds trace the accretion–ejection coupling in active galactic nuclei and provide an efficient channel for transferring energy from the inner accretion flow to the host galaxy. In this talk, I will discuss how these cosmic tides of gas connect black hole accretion to galaxy-scale feedback, and the prospects for new missions to further unveil the physics of black hole winds.