ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

Chandra Observations of the Highest Redshift Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

113   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Ohad Shemmer
 تاريخ النشر 2006
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English
 تأليف Ohad Shemmer




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

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.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

241 - Nicholas P. Ross 2009
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, ou r 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]
(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 $zge 3.5$.
126 - C. Vignali 2006
We report on new Chandra exploratory observations of six candidate Type 2 quasars at z=0.49-0.73 selected among the most [OIII] luminous emitters from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Under the assumption that [OIII] is a proxy for the intrinsic luminosity of the central source, their predicted rest-frame X-ray luminosities are L(2-10keV)~10^45 erg/s. For two of the targets, the photon statistics are good enough to allow for basic X-ray spectral analyses, which indicate the presence of intrinsic absorption (~10^{22-23} cm^-2) and luminous X-ray emission (L_X>10^44 erg/s). Of the remaining four targets, two are detected with only a few (3-6) X-ray counts, and two are undetected by Chandra. If these four sources have the large intrinsic X-ray luminosities predicted by the [OIII] emission, then their nuclei must be heavily obscured (N_H>few 10^23 cm^-2) and some might be Compton thick (N_H>1.5 10^24 cm^-2). We also present the results for two Type 2 quasar candidates serendipitously lying in the fields of the Chandra targets, and provide an up-to-date compilation of the X-ray properties of eight additional SDSS Type 2 quasars from archival Chandra and XMM-Newton observations (five with moderate-quality X-ray data). The combined sample of 16 SDSS Type 2 quasars (10 X-ray detections) provides further evidence that a considerable fraction of optically selected Type 2 quasars are obscured in the X-ray band (at least all the objects with moderate-quality X-ray spectra), lending further support to the findings presented in Vignali, Alexander and Comastri (2004a) and unification schemes of Active Galactic Nuclei, and confirms the reliability of [OIII] emission in predicting the X-ray emission in obscured quasars.
We have combined a sample of 44984 quasars, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 3, with the FIRST radio survey. Using a novel technique where the optical quasar position is matched to the complete radio environment within 4 50, we are able to characterize the radio morphological make-up of what is essentially an optically selected quasar sample, regardless of whether the quasar (nucleus) itself has been detected in the radio. About 10% of the quasar population have radio cores brighter than 0.75 mJy at 1.4 GHz, and 1.7% have double lobed FR2-like radio morphologies. About 75% of the FR2 sources have a radio core (> 0.75 mJy). A significant fraction (~40%) of the FR2 quasars are bent by more than 10 degrees, indicating either interactions of the radio plasma with the ICM or IGM. We found no evidence for correlations with redshift among our FR2 quasars: radio lobe flux densities and radio source diameters of the quasars have similar distributions at low (mean 0.77) and high (mean 2.09) redshifts. Using a smaller high reliability FR2 sample of 422 quasars and two comparison samples of radio-quiet and non-FR2 radio-loud quasars, matched in their redshift distributions, we constructed composite optical spectra from the SDSS spectroscopic data. Based on these spectra we can conclude that the FR2 quasars have stronger high-ionization emission lines compared to both the radio quiet and non-FR2 radio loud sources. This is consistent with the notion that the emission lines are brightened by ongoing shock ionization of ambient gas in the quasar host as the radio source expands.
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 fra me. 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.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا