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Register a new userOverdensities of Extremely Red Objects in the Fields of High-Redshift Radio-Loud Quasars
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M. Wold
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We have examined the occurrence of Extremely Red Objects (EROs) in the fields of 13 luminous quasars (11 radio-loud and two radio-quiet) at 1.8 < z < 3.0. The average surface density of K_s<=19 mag EROs is two-three times higher than in large, random-field surveys, and the excess is significant at the $approx 3$ sigma level even after taking into account that the ERO distribution is highly inhomogeneous. This is the first systematic investigation of the surface density of EROs in the fields of radio-loud quasars above z=2, and shows that a large number of the fields contain clumps of EROs, similar to what is seen only in the densest areas in random-field surveys. The high surface densities and angular distribution of EROs suggest that the excess originates in high-z galaxy concentrations, possibly young clusters of galaxies. The fainter EROs at K_s>19 mag show some evidence of being more clustered in the immediate 20 arcsec region around the quasars, suggesting an association with the quasars.Comparing with predictions from spectral synthesis models, we find that if the $K_sapprox19$ mag ERO excess is associated with the quasars at $zapprox2$, their magnitudes are typical of >~ L* passively evolving galaxies formed at z~3.5 (Omega_m=0.3, Omega_l=0.7, and H0=70 km/s/Mpc). Another interpretation of our results is that the excess originates in concentrations of galaxies at $zapprox1$ lying along the line of sight to the quasars. If this is the case, the EROs may be tracing massive structures responsible for a magnification bias of the quasars.
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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.
We present Hubble Space Telescope 1.4-1.6 micron images of the hosts of ten extremely red quasars (ERQs) and six type 2 quasar candidates at z=2-3. ERQs, whose bolometric luminosities range between 10^47 and 10^48 erg/sec, show spectroscopic signs of powerful ionized winds, whereas type 2 quasar candidates are less luminous and show only mild outflows. After performing careful subtraction of the quasar light, we clearly detect almost all host galaxies. The median rest-frame B-band luminosity of the ERQ hosts in our sample is 10^11.2 L_Sun, or 4 L* at this redshift. Two of the ten hosts of ERQs are in ongoing mergers. The hosts of the type 2 quasar candidates are 0.6 dex less luminous, with 2/6 in likely ongoing mergers. Intriguingly, despite some signs of interaction and presence of low-mass companions, our objects do not show nearly as much major merger activity as do high-redshift radio-loud galaxies and quasars. In the absence of an overt connection to major ongoing gas-rich merger activity, our observations are consistent with a model in which the near-Eddington accretion and strong feedback of ERQs are associated with relatively late stages of mergers resulting in early-type remnants. These results are in some tension with theoretical expectations of galaxy formation models, in which rapid black hole growth occurs within a short time of a major merger. Type 2 quasar candidates are less luminous, so they may instead be powered by internal galactic processes.
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We report on a study of the surface density of Extremely Red Objects (EROs) in the fields of 13 radio-loud quasars at 1.8 < z < 3.0 covering a total area of 61.7 sqr arcmin. There is a large variation in the ERO surface density from field to field, and as many as 30--40 % of the fields have roughly 4--5 times more EROs than what is expected from a random distribution. The average surface density exceeds the value found in large random-field surveys by a factor of 2--3, a result which is significant at the >3 sigma level. Hence, it appears that the quasar lines of sight are biassed towards regions of high ERO density. This might be caused by clusters or groups of galaxies physically associated with the quasars. However, an equally likely possibility is that the observed ERO excess is part of overdensities in the ERO population along the line of sight to the quasars. In this case, the non-randomness of quasar fields with respect to EROs may be explained in terms of gravitational lensing.
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