2015ApJ...815..113Z

We present the discovery of Balmer line absorption from Hα to Hγ in an iron low-ionization broad absorption line (FeLoBAL) quasar SDSS J152350.42+391405.2 (hereafter SDSS J1523+3914), by the quasi-simultaneous optical and near-infrared spectroscopy. The Balmer line absorption is at and blueshifted by v = 10,353 km/s with respect to the Balmer emission lines. All Balmer BALs have a uniform absorption profile with the widths of 12,000 km/s. We also found the absorption trough in He i* λ10830 with the same velocity and width in the H-band TripleSpec spectrum of SDSS J1523+3914. This object is only the 10th active galactic nucleus known to exhibit nonstellar Balmer absorption, as well as the case with the highest velocity and broadest Balmer absorption lines that have ever been found. A CLOUDY analysis shows that the absorbers require a gas density of and an ionization parameter of They are located at a distance of ∼0.2 pc from the central ionizing source, which is slightly farther than that of broad emission line regions. Furthermore, SDSS J1523+3914 is one of the brightest Balmer BAL quasars ever reported, with unique iron absorption variations, making it the most promising candidate for follow-up high-resolution spectroscopy, multiband observations, and long-term monitoring.