HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE FAINT OBJECT SPECTROGRAPH AND GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS OF THE BROAD ABSORPTION-LINE QUASAR 0226-1024

Faint Object Spectrograph data from the Hubble Space Telescope of the broad absorption line quasar 0226-1024 have revealed the presence of 8-10 absorbing ions between 680 and 1000 angstrom (restframe): C III, N III, N IV, O III, O IV, O VI, S V, S VI, possibly Ne VIII, and possibly O V* arising from a metastable excited state. We also present ground-based optical observations of the broad absorption line troughs for the following ions: H I, C IV, N V, Si IV, and possibly Fe III, S IV, P V, and C III* (also arising from a metastable excited state). The absorption line spectrum is fitted remarkably well using the observed C IV optical depth versus velocity as a template with arbitrary scale factors for the other ions. The results of this fit are used to estimate the absorbing ionic column densities. If broad absorption due to the excited state transition of O V lambda760 is present, it implies very high electron densities and temperatures in the absorbing gas. There is evidence that the broad absorption line clouds are optically thick and either do not completely cover the continuum source or narrow unresolved lines are present.