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Register a new userMg II and Fe II fluxes of luminous quasars at z ~ 2.7 and evaluation of the Baldwin effect in the flux-to-abundance conversion method for quasars
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To investigate the chemical abundance of broad-line region clouds in quasars at high redshifts, we performed near-infrared spectroscopy of six luminous quasars at z ~ 2.7 with the WINERED spectrograph mounted on the New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory, Chile. The measured Fe II/Mg II flux ratios nearly matched with the published data for 0.7 < z < 1.6, suggesting that there is no evolution over a long period of cosmic time, which is consistent with previous studies. To derive the chemical abundances from the measured equivalent widths (EWs), their dependence on nonabundance factors must be corrected. In our previous paper, we proposed a method to derive the [Mg/Fe] abundance ratio and the [Fe/H] abundance by correcting the dependence of EW(Mg II) and EW(Fe II) on the Eddington ratio. To the best of our knowledge, that was the first report to discuss the star-formation history through a direct comparison with chemical evolution models. In the present study, we further investigated the dependence of EWs on luminosity, which is known as the Baldwin effect (BEff). Additional correction for the BEff significantly affects the derived chemical abundances for the six luminous quasars at z ~ 2.7, and the resultant abundances agree well with the prediction of chemical evolution models. Given that most distant quasars found thus far are biased toward luminous ones, the correction of the measured EWs for the BEff is crucial for extending the chemical evolution study to higher redshifts.
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Both the Fe II UV emission in the 2000- 3000 A region [Fe II (UV)] and resonance emission line complex of Mg II at 2800 A are prominent features in quasar spectra. The observed Fe II UV/ Mg II emission ratios have been proposed as means to measure the buildup of the Fe abundance relative to that of the alpha-elements C, N, O, Ne and Mg as a function of redshift. The current observed ratios show large scatter and no obvious dependence on redshift. Thus, it remains unresolved whether a dependence on redshift exists and whether the observed Fe II UV/ Mg II ratios represent a real nucleosynthesis diagnostic. We have used our new 830-level model atom for Fe+ in photoionization calculations, reproducing the physical conditions in the broad line regions of quasars. This modeling reveals that interpretations of high values of Fe II UV/ Mg II are sensitive not only to Fe and Mg abundance, but also to other factors such as microturbulence, density, and properties of the radiation field. We find that the Fe II UV/ Mg II ratio combined with Fe II (UV)/ Fe II (Optical) emission ratio, where Fe II (Optical) denotes Fe II emission in 4000 - 6000 A can be used as a reliable nucleosynthesis diagnostic for the Fe/Mg abundance ratios for the physical conditions relevant to the broad-line regions (BLRs) of quasars. This has extreme importance for quasar observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and also with the future James Webb Space Telescope.
We present a study of strong intervening absorption systems in the near-IR spectra of 31 luminous quasars at $z>5.7$. The quasar spectra were obtained with {it Gemini} GNIRS that provide continuous wavelength coverage from $sim$0.9 to $sim$2.5 $mu$m. We detect 32 strong Mg II doublet absorbers with rest-frame equivalent width $W_r$ ($lambda2796$) $>1.0$ AA at $2.2 < z < 6.0$. Each Mg II absorber is confirmed by at least two associated Fe II absorption lines in the rest-frame wavelength range of $sim 1600-2600$ AA. We find that the comoving line density ($dN/dX$) of the strong Fe II-bearing Mg II absorbers decreases towards higher redshift at $z>3$, consistent with previous studies. Compared with strong Mg II absorbers detected in damped Ly$alpha$ systems at 2 $<z<$ 4, our absorbers are potentially less saturated and show much larger rest-frame velocity widths. This suggests that the gas traced by our absorbers are potentially affected by galactic superwinds. We analyze the {it Hubble Space Telescope} near-IR images of the quasars and identify possible associated galaxies for our strong absorbers. There are a maximum of two galaxy candidates found within 5 radius of each absorber. The median F105W-band magnitude of these galaxy candidates is 24.8 mag, which is fainter than the $L^*$ galaxy luminosity at $zsim$ 4. By using our observed $dN/dX$ of strong Mg II absorbers and galaxy candidates median luminosity, we suggest that at high redshift, strong Mg II absorbers tend to have a more disturbed environment but smaller halo size than that at $z <$ 1.
We present spectroscopic identification of 32 new quasars and luminous galaxies discovered at 5.7 < z < 6.8. This is the second in a series of papers presenting the results of the Subaru High-z Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs) project, which exploits the deep multi-band imaging data produced by the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program survey. The photometric candidates were selected by a Bayesian probabilistic algorithm, and then observed with spectrographs on the Gran Telescopio Canarias and the Subaru Telescope. Combined with the sample presented in the previous paper, we have now identified 64 HSC sources over about 430 deg2, which include 33 high-z quasars, 14 high-z luminous galaxies, 2 [O III] emitters at z ~ 0.8, and 15 Galactic brown dwarfs. The new quasars have considerably lower luminosity (M1450 ~ -25 to -22 mag) than most of the previously known high-z quasars. Several of these quasars have luminous (> 10^(43) erg/s) and narrow (< 500 km/s) Ly alpha lines, and also a possible mini broad absorption line system of N V 1240 in the composite spectrum, which clearly separate them from typical quasars. On the other hand, the high-z galaxies have extremely high luminosity (M1450 ~ -24 to -22 mag) compared to other galaxies found at similar redshift. With the discovery of these new classes of objects, we are opening up new parameter spaces in the high-z Universe. Further survey observations and follow-up studies of the identified objects, including the construction of the quasar luminosity function at z ~ 6, are ongoing.
The lifetime of quasars is fundamental for understanding the growth of supermassive black holes, and is an important ingredient in models of the reionization of the intergalactic medium. However, despite various attempts to determine quasar lifetimes, current estimates from a variety of methods are uncertain by orders of magnitude. This work combines cosmological hydrodynamical simulations and 1D radiative transfer to investigate the structure and evolution of the He II Ly$alpha$ proximity zones around quasars at $z simeq 3-4$. We show that the time evolution in the proximity zone can be described by a simple analytical model for the approach of the He II fraction $x_{rm HeII}left( t right)$ to ionization equilibrium, and use this picture to illustrate how the transmission profile depends on the quasar lifetime, quasar UV luminosity, and the ionization state of helium in the ambient IGM (i.e. the average He II fraction, or equivalently the metagalactic He II ionizing background). A significant degeneracy exists between the lifetime and the average He II fraction, however the latter can be determined from measurements of the He II Ly$alpha$ optical depth far from quasars, allowing the lifetime to be measured. We advocate stacking existing He II quasar spectra at $zsim 3$, and show that the shape of this average proximity zone profile is sensitive to lifetimes as long as $sim 30$ Myr. At higher redshift $zsim 4$ where the He II fraction is poorly constrained, degeneracies will make it challenging to determine these parameters independently. Our analytical model for He II proximity zones should also provide a useful description of the properties of H I proximity zones around quasars at $z simeq 6-7$.
Studying the coupling between the energy output produced by the central quasar and the host galaxy is fundamental to fully understand galaxy evolution. Quasar feedback is indeed supposed to dramatically affect the galaxy properties by depositing large amounts of energy and momentum into the ISM. In order to gain further insights on this process, we study the SEDs of sources at the brightest end of the quasar luminosity function, for which the feedback mechanism is supposed to be at its maximum. We model the rest-frame UV-to-FIR SEDs of 16 WISE-SDSS Selected Hyper-luminous (WISSH) quasars at 1.8 < z < 4.6 disentangling the different emission components and deriving physical parameters of both the nuclear component and the host galaxy. We also use a radiative transfer code to account for the contribution of the quasar-related emission to the FIR fluxes. Most SEDs are well described by a standard combination of accretion disk+torus and cold dust emission. However, about 30% of them require an additional emission component in the NIR, with temperatures peaking at 750K, which indicates the presence of a hotter dust component in these powerful quasars. We measure extreme values of both AGN bolometric luminosity (LBOL > 10^47 erg/s) and SFR (up to 2000 Msun/yr). A new relation between quasar and star-formation luminosity is derived (LSF propto LQSO^(0.73)) by combining several Herschel-detected quasar samples from z=0 to 4. Future observations will be crucial to measure the molecular gas content in these systems, probe the impact between quasar-driven outflows and on-going star-formation, and reveal the presence of merger signatures in their host galaxies.
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