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Register a new userThe near-IR properties and continuum shapes of high redshift quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
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We present J-H-K photometry for a sample of 45 high redshift quasars found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The sample was originally selected on the basis of optical colors and spans a redshift range from 3.6 to 5.03. Our photometry reflects the rest-frame SED longward of Ly alpha for all redshifts. The results show that the near-IR colors of high redshift quasars are quite uniform. We have modelled the continuum shape of the quasars (from just beyond Ly alpha to ~4000 A) with a power law of the form f_nu propto nu^alpha, and find <alpha > =-0.57 with a scatter of 0.33. This value is similar to what is found for lower redshift quasars over the same restframe wavelength range, and we conclude that there is hardly any evolution in the continuum properties of optically selected quasars up to redshift 5. The spectral indices found by combining near-IR with optical photometry are in general consistent but slightly flatter than what is found for the same quasars using the optical spectra and photometry alone, showing that the continuum region used to determine the spectral indices can somewhat influence the results.
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(Abridged) We study the two-point correlation function of a uniformly selected sample of 4,426 luminous optical quasars with redshift $2.9 le zle 5.4$ selected over 4041 deg$^2$ from the Fifth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For a real-space correlation function of the form $xi(r)=(r/r_0)^{-gamma}$, the fitted parameters in comoving coordinates are $r_0 = 15.2 pm 2.7 h^{-1}$ Mpc and $gamma = 2.0 pm 0.3$, over a scale range $4le r_ple 150 h^{-1}$ Mpc. Thus high-redshift quasars are appreciably more strongly clustered than their $z approx 1.5$ counterparts, which have a comoving clustering length $r_0 approx 6.5 h^{-1}$ Mpc. Dividing our sample into two redshift bins: $2.9le zle 3.5$ and $zge 3.5$, and assuming a power-law index $gamma=2.0$, we find a correlation length of $r_0 = 16.9 pm 1.7 h^{-1}$ Mpc for the former, and $r_0 = 24.3 pm 2.4 h^{-1}$ Mpc for the latter. Following Martini & Weinberg, we relate the clustering strength and quasar number density to the quasar lifetimes and duty cycle. Using the Sheth & Tormen halo mass function, the quasar lifetime is estimated to lie in the range $4sim 50$ Myr for quasars with $2.9le zle 3.5$; and $30sim 600$ Myr for quasars with $zge 3.5$. The corresponding duty cycles are $0.004sim 0.05$ for the lower redshift bin and $0.03sim 0.6$ for the higher redshift bin. The minimum mass of halos in which these quasars reside is $2-3times 10^{12} h^{-1}M_odot$ for quasars with $2.9le zle 3.5$ and $4-6times 10^{12} h^{-1}M_odot$ for quasars with $zge 3.5$.
We present new Chandra observations of 21 z>4 quasars, including 11 sources at z>5. These observations double the number of X-ray detected quasars at z>5, allowing investigation of the X-ray spectral properties of a substantial sample of quasars at the dawn of the modern Universe. By jointly fitting the spectra of 15 z>5 radio-quiet quasars (RQQs), including sources from the Chandra archive, with a total of 185 photons, we find a mean X-ray power-law photon index of Gamma=1.95^{+0.30}_{-0.26}, and a mean neutral intrinsic absorption column density of N_H<~6x10^{22} cm^{-2}. These results show that quasar X-ray spectral properties have not evolved up to the highest observable redshifts. We also find that the mean optical-X-ray spectral slope (alpha_ox) of optically-selected z>5 RQQs, excluding broad absorption line quasars, is alpha_ox=-1.69+/-0.03, which is consistent with the value predicted from the observed relationship between alpha_ox and ultraviolet luminosity. Four of the sources in our sample are members of the rare class of weak emission-line quasars, and we detect two of them in X-rays. We discuss the implications our X-ray observations have for the nature of these mysterious sources and, in particular, whether their weak-line spectra are a consequence of continuum boosting or a deficit of high-ionization line emitting gas.
We perform a systematic search for high-redshift ($z >$ 1.5) extreme variability quasars (EVQs) using repeat spectra from the Sixteenth Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which provides a baseline spanning up to $sim$18 yrs in the observed frame. We compile a sample of 348 EVQs with a maximum continuum variability at rest frame 1450 Angstrom of more than 100% (i.e., $delta$V $equiv$ (Max$-$Min)/Mean $>$1). The EVQs show a range of emission line variability, including 23 where at least one line in our redshift range disappears below detectability, which can then be seen as analogous to low-redshift changing-look quasars (CLQs). Importantly, spurious CLQs caused by SDSS problematic spectral flux calibration, e.g., fiber drop issue, have been rejected. The similar properties (e.g., continuum/line, difference-composite spectra and Eddington ratio) of normal EVQs and CLQs, implies that they are basically the same physical population with analogous intrinsic variability mechanisms, as a tail of a continuous distribution of normal quasar properties. In addition, we find no reliable evidence ($lesssim$ 1$sigma$) to support that the CLQs are a subset of EVQs with less efficient accretion. Finally, we also confirm the anti-breathing of C IV (i.e., line width increases as luminosity increases) in EVQs, and find that in addition to $sim$ 0.4 dex systematic uncertainty in single-epoch C IV virial black hole mass estimates, an extra scatter of $sim$ 0.3 dex will be introduced by extreme variability.
We present measurements of the quasar two-point correlation function, xi_{Q}, over the redshift range z=0.3-2.2 based upon data from the SDSS. Using a homogeneous sample of 30,239 quasars with spectroscopic redshifts from the DR5 Quasar Catalogue, our study represents the largest sample used for this type of investigation to date. With this redshift range and an areal coverage of approx 4,000 deg^2, we sample over 25 h^-3 Gpc^3 (comoving) assuming the current LCDM cosmology. Over this redshift range, we find that the redshift-space correlation function, xi(s), is adequately fit by a single power-law, with s_{0}=5.95+/-0.45 h^-1 Mpc and gamma_{s}=1.16+0.11-0.16 when fit over s=1-25 h^-1 Mpc. Using the projected correlation function we calculate the real-space correlation length, r_{0}=5.45+0.35-0.45 h^-1 Mpc and gamma=1.90+0.04-0.03, over scales of rp=1-130 h^-1 Mpc. Dividing the sample into redshift slices, we find very little, if any, evidence for the evolution of quasar clustering, with the redshift-space correlation length staying roughly constant at s_{0} ~ 6-7 h^-1 Mpc at z<2.2 (and only increasing at redshifts greater than this). Comparing our clustering measurements to those reported for X-ray selected AGN at z=0.5-1, we find reasonable agreement in some cases but significantly lower correlation lengths in others. We find that the linear bias evolves from b~1.4 at z=0.5 to b~3 at z=2.2, with b(z=1.27)=2.06+/-0.03 for the full sample. We compare our data to analytical models and infer that quasars inhabit dark matter haloes of constant mass M ~2 x 10^12 h^-1 M_Sol from redshifts z~2.5 (the peak of quasar activity) to z~0. [ABRIDGED]
We determine the underlying shapes of spiral and elliptical galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6 from the observed distribution of projected galaxy shapes, taking into account the effects of dust extinction and reddening. We assume that the underlying shapes of spirals and ellipticals are well approximated by triaxial ellipsoids. The elliptical galaxy data are consistent with oblate spheroids, with a correlation between luminosity and ellipticity: the mean values of minor to middle axis ratios are 0.41+-0.03 for Mr ~ -18 ellipticals, and 0.76+-0.04 for Mr ~-22.5 ellipticals. Ellipticals show almost no dependence of axial ratio on galaxy colour, implying a negligible dust optical depth. There is a strong variation of spiral galaxy shapes with colour indicating the presence of dust. The intrinsic shapes of spiral galaxies in the SDSS-DR6 are consistent with flat disks with a mean and dispersion of thickness to diameter ratio of (21+-2)%, and a face-on ellipticity, e, of ln(e)=-2.33+-0.79. Not including the effects of dust in the model leads to disks that are systematically rounder by up to 60%. More luminous spiral galaxies tend to have thicker and rounder disks than lower-luminosity spirals. Both elliptical and spiral galaxies tend to be rounder for larger galaxies. The marginalised value of the edge-on r-band dust extinction E_0 in spiral galaxies is E_0 ~ 0.45 magnitudes for galaxies of median colours, increasing to E_0=1 magnitudes for g-r>0.9 and E_0=1.9 for the luminous and most compact galaxies, with half-light radii <2kpc/h.
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