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Register a new userObscuration in extremely luminous quasars
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The spectral energy distributions and infrared (IR) spectra of a sample of obscured AGNs selected in the mid-IR are modeled with recent clumpy torus models to investigate the nature of the sources, the properties of the obscuring matter, and dependencies on luminosity. The sample contains 21 obscured AGNs at z=1.3-3 discovered in the largest Spitzer surveys (SWIRE, NDWFS, & FLS) by means of their extremely red IR to optical colors. All sources show the 9.7micron silicate feature in absorption and have extreme mid-IR luminosities (L(6micron)~10^46 erg/s). The IR SEDs and spectra of 12 sources are well reproduced with a simple torus model, while the remaining 9 sources require foreground extinction from a cold dust component to reproduce both the depth of the silicate feature and the near-IR emission from hot dust. The best-fit torus models show a broad range of inclinations, with no preference for the edge-on torus expected in obscured AGNs. Based on the unobscured QSO mid-IR luminosity function, and on a color-selected sample of obscured and unobscured IR sources, we estimate the surface densities of obscured and unobscured QSOs at L(6micron)>10^12 Lsun, and z=1.3-3.0 to be about 17-22 deg^-2, and 11.7 deg^-2, respectively. Overall we find that ~35-41% of luminous QSOs are unobscured, 37-40% are obscured by the torus, and 23-25% are obscured by a cold absorber detached from the torus. These fractions constrain the torus half opening angle to be ~67 deg. This value is significantly larger than found for FIR selected samples of AGN at lower luminosity (~46 deg), supporting the receding torus scenario. A far-IR component is observed in 8 objects. The estimated far-IR luminosities associated with this component all exceed 3.3x10^12 Lsun, implying SFRs of 600-3000 Msun/yr. (Abridged)
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Red quasars are candidate young objects in an early transition stage of massive galaxy evolution. Our team recently discovered a population of extremely red quasars (ERQs) in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) that has a suite of peculiar emission-line properties including large rest equivalent widths (REWs), unusual wingless line profiles, large NV/Lya, NV/CIV, SiIV/CIV and other flux ratios, and very broad and blueshifted [OIII] 5007. Here we present a new catalog of CIV and NV emission-line data for 216,188 BOSS quasars to characterize the ERQ line properties further. We show that they depend sharply on UV-to-mid-IR color, secondarily on REW(CIV), and not at all on luminosity or the Baldwin Effect. We identify a core sample of 97 ERQs with nearly uniform peculiar properties selected via i-W3 > 4.6 (AB) and REW(CIV) > 100 A at redshifts 2.0-3.4. A broader search finds 235 more red quasars with similar unusual characteristics. The core ERQs have median luminosity log L (ergs/s) ~ 47.1, sky density 0.010 deg^-2, surprisingly flat/blue UV spectra given their red UV-to-mid-IR colors, and common outflow signatures including BALs or BAL-like features and large CIV emission-line blueshifts. Their SEDs and line properties are inconsistent with normal quasars behind a dust reddening screen. We argue that the core ERQs are a unique obscured quasar population with extreme physical conditions related to powerful outflows across the line-forming regions. Patchy obscuration by small dusty clouds could produce the observed UV extinctions without substantial UV reddening.
With close pairs of quasars at different redshifts, a background quasar sightline can be used to study a foreground quasars environment in absorption. We search 149 moderate resolution background quasar spectra, from Gemini, Keck, the MMT, and the SDSS to survey Lyman Limit Systems (LLSs) and Damped Ly-alpha systems (DLAs) in the vicinity of 1.8 < z < 4.0 luminous foreground quasars. A sample of 27 new quasar-absorber pairs is uncovered with column densities, 17.2 < log (N_HI/cm^2) < 20.9, and transverse (proper) distances of 22 kpc/h < R < 1.7 Mpc/h, from the foreground quasars. If they emit isotropically, the implied ionizing photon fluxes are a factor of ~ 5-8000 times larger than the ambient extragalactic UV background over this range of distances. The observed probability of intercepting an absorber is very high for small separations: six out of eight projected sightlines with transverse separations R < 150 kpc/h have an absorber coincident with the foreground quasar, of which four have log N_HI > 10^19. The covering factor of log N_HI > 10^19 absorbers is thus ~ 50 % (4/8) on these small scales, whereas < 2% would have been expected at random. There are many cosmological applications of these new sightlines: they provide laboratories for studying fluorescent Ly-alpha recombination radiation from LLSs, constrain the environments, emission geometry, and radiative histories of quasars, and shed light on the physical nature of LLSs and DLAs.
Hard X-ray surveys have uncovered a large population of heavily obscured AGN. They also reveal a population of quasars with moderate obscuration at both visible and X-ray wavelengths. We use Chandra selected samples of quasars from the ELAIS Deep X-ray Survey (EDXS) and CDF-N to investigate the obscuration towards the nuclei of moderately obscured AGN. We find an inverse correlation between the optical to X-ray flux ratio and the X-ray hardness ratio which can be interpreted as due to obscuration at visible and X-ray wavelengths. We present detailed optical and near-infrared data for a sample of optically-faint (R>23) quasars from the EDXS. These are used to constrain the amount of rest-frame UV/optical reddening towards these quasars. It is found that optically-faint quasars are mostly faint due to obscuration, not because they are intrinsically weak. After correcting for reddening, the optical magnitudes of most of these quasars are similar to the brighter quasars at these X-ray fluxes. Combining with gas column densities inferred from the X-ray observations we consider the gas-to-dust ratios of the obscuring matter. We find that the quasars generally have higher gas-to-dust absorption than that seen in the Milky Way - similar to what has been found for nearby Seyfert galaxies. We consider the possible existence of a large population of X-ray sources which have optical properties of Type 1 (unobscured) quasars, but X-ray properties of Type 2 (obscured) quasars. We show that the observed distribution of optical-to-X-ray flux ratios of quasars at z>1 is skewed to low values compared to the intrinsic distribution...
Hot Dust-Obscured Galaxies (Hot DOGs) are hyperluminous ($L_{mathrm{8-1000,mu m}}>10^{13},mathrm{L_odot}$) infrared galaxies with extremely high (up to hundreds of K) dust temperatures. The sources powering both their extremely high luminosities and dust temperatures are thought to be deeply buried and rapidly accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Hot DOGs could therefore represent a key evolutionary phase in which the SMBH growth peaks. X-ray observations can be used to study their obscuration levels and luminosities. In this work, we present the X-ray properties of the 20 most-luminous ($L_{mathrm{bol}}gtrsim10^{14}, L_odot$) known Hot DOGs at $z=2-4.6$. Five of them are covered by long-exposure ($10-70$ ks) Chandra and XMM-Newton observations, with three being X-ray detected, and we study their individual properties. One of these sources (W0116$-$0505) is a Compton-thick candidate, with column density $N_H=(1.0-1.5)times10^{24},mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ derived from X-ray spectral fitting. The remaining 15 Hot DOGs have been targeted by a Chandra snapshot (3.1 ks) survey. None of these 15 is individually detected; therefore we applied a stacking analysis to investigate their average emission. From hardness-ratio analysis, we constrained the average obscuring column density and intrinsic luminosity to be log$N_H,mathrm{[cm^{-2}]}>23.5$ and $L_Xgtrsim10^{44},mathrm{erg,cm^{-2},s^{-1}}$, which are consistent with results for individually detected sources. We also investigated the $L_X-L_{6mumathrm{m}}$ and $L_X-L_{bol}$ relations, finding hints that Hot DOGs are typically X-ray weaker than expected, although larger samples of luminous obscured QSOs are needed to derive solid conclusions.
Quasars may have played a key role in limiting the stellar mass of massive galaxies. Identifying those quasars in the process of removing star formation fuel from their hosts is an exciting ongoing challenge in extragalactic astronomy. In this paper we present X-ray observations of eleven extremely red quasars (ERQs) with $L_{rm bol}sim 10^{47}$ erg s$^{-1}$ at $z=1.5-3.2$ with evidence for high-velocity ($v > 1000$ km s$^{-1}$) [OIII]$lambda$5007AA outflows. X-rays allow us to directly probe circumnuclear obscuration and to measure the instantaneous accretion luminosity. We detect ten out of eleven extremely red quasars available in targeted and archival data. Using a combination of X-ray spectral fitting and hardness ratios, we find that all of the ERQs show signs of absorption in the X-rays with inferred column densities of $N_{rm H}approx 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$, including four Compton-thick candidates ($N_{rm H} > 10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$). We stack the X-ray emission of the seven weakly detected sources, measuring an average column density of $N_{rm H}sim 8times 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$. The absorption-corrected (intrinsic) $2-10$ keV X-ray luminosity of the stack is $2.7times 10^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$, consistent with X-ray luminosities of type 1 quasars of the same infrared luminosity. Thus, we find that ERQs are a highly obscured, borderline Compton-thick population, and based on optical and infrared data we suggest that these objects are partially hidden by their own equatorial outflows. However, unlike some quasars with known outflows, ERQs do not appear to be intrinsically underluminous in X-rays for their bolometric luminosity. Our observations indicate that low X-rays are not necessary to enable some types of radiatively driven winds.
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