THE EXTRAORDINARY MID-INFRARED SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF FeLoBAL QUASARS

Journal Article · Sat Jul 10 04:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/717/2/868· OSTI ID:21455216

Farrah, D ^[1]; Urrutia, T ^[2]; Lacy, M ^[3]; Lebouteiller, V; Spoon, H W. W.; Bernard-Salas, J; Houck, J ^[4]; Connolly, N ^[5]; Afonso, J ^[6]; Connolly, B ^[7]

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1. Astronomy Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton (United Kingdom)
2. Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
3. National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA (United States)
4. Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States)
5. Physics Department, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323 (United States)
6. Observatorio Astronomico de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisbon (Portugal)
7. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6396 (United States)

We present mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra of six FeLoBAL quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) at 1 < z < 1.8, taken with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectra span a range of shapes, from hot dust-dominated active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with silicate emission at 9.7 {mu}m to moderately obscured starbursts with strong polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission. The spectrum of one object, SDSS 1214-0001, shows the most prominent PAHs yet seen in any QSO at any redshift, implying that the starburst dominates the mid-IR emission with an associated star formation rate on the order of 2700 M{sub sun} yr{sup -1}. With the caveats that our sample is small and not robustly selected, we combine our mid-IR spectral diagnostics with previous observations to propose that FeLoBAL QSOs are at least largely comprised of systems in which (1) a merger-driven starburst is ending, (2) a luminous AGN is in the last stages of burning through its surrounding dust, and (3) we may be viewing over a restricted line-of-sight range.

• OSTI ID: 21455216
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 717; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ABSORPTION
AROMATICS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DUSTS
EMISSION
EVOLUTION
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
HYDROCARBONS
INFRARED SPECTRA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
QUASARS
RED SHIFT
SORPTION
SPECTRA
STARS
TELESCOPES