Observations of Fast Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei

The presence of outflows in many Active Galaxies has been firmly established through X-ray spectroscopy over the last two decades.
These outflows range from the low velocity warm absorbers commonly seen in many Seyfert galaxies, through to the
so called ultra fast outflows, where the outflow velocities can reach a significant fraction of c.
Ultra fast outflows were first discovered in 2003, from the presence of highly blue-shifted absorption lines from the X-ray spectra of quasars and AGN. The observational evidence for fast outflows will be reviewed, as well as their wider properties and potential for feedback into the host galaxies of AGN. New data from large programs on the fast outflows, such as PDS 456 and PG 1211+143, will be shown, the former showing a fast wide angle outflow, while both AGN show highly variable outflows which may respond to the ionising continuum.
The evidence for fast soft X-ray absorption as well as the possible driving mechanisms of the winds will also be discussed.