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Title: A glimpse at quasar host galaxy far-UV emission using damped Lyα's as natural coronagraphs

Abstract

In merger-driven models of massive galaxy evolution, the luminous quasar phase is expected to be accompanied by vigorous star formation in quasar host galaxies. In this paper, we use high column density damped Lyα (DLA) systems along quasar sight lines as natural coronagraphs to directly study the far-UV (FUV) radiation from the host galaxies of luminous background quasars. We have stacked the spectra of ∼2000 DLA systems (N {sub H} {sub I} > 10{sup 20.6} cm{sup –2}) with a median absorption redshift (z) = 2.6 selected from quasars observed in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We detect residual flux in the dark troughs of the composite DLA spectra. The level of this residual flux significantly exceeds systematic errors in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey fiber sky subtraction; furthermore, the residual flux is strongly correlated with the continuum luminosity of the background quasar, while uncorrelated with DLA column density or metallicity. We conclude that the flux could be associated with the average FUV radiation from the background quasar host galaxies (with medium redshift (z) = 3.1) that is not blocked by the intervening DLA. Assuming that all of the detected flux originates from quasar hosts, for the highest quasar luminositymore » bin ((L) = 2.5 × 10{sup 13} L {sub ☉}), the host galaxy has an FUV intensity of 1.5 ± 0.2 × 10{sup 40} erg s{sup –1} Å{sup –1}; this corresponds to an unobscured UV star formation rate of 9 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [10]
  1. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)
  2. Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, CNRS-UPMC, UMR7095, 98bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris (France)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, Weston Creek, ACT, 2611 (Australia)
  5. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona (Spain)
  6. Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 36-D, Santiago (Chile)
  7. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
  8. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)
  9. Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  10. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22370539
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 793; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ABSORPTION; COSMOLOGY; DENSITY; EMISSION; GALAXIES; LUMINOSITY; LYMAN LINES; METALLICITY; OSCILLATIONS; QUASARS; RED SHIFT; SPECTRA; STARS; STELLAR CORONAE

Citation Formats

Cai, Zheng, Fan, Xiaohui, Wang, Ran, McGreer, Ian, Noterdaeme, Pasquier, Finley, Hayley, Petitjean, Patrick, Carithers, Bill, Bian, Fuyan, Miralda-Escudé, Jordi, Pâris, Isabelle, Schneider, Donald P., Zakamska, Nadia L., Ge, Jian, and Slosar, Anze. A glimpse at quasar host galaxy far-UV emission using damped Lyα's as natural coronagraphs. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/793/2/139.
Cai, Zheng, Fan, Xiaohui, Wang, Ran, McGreer, Ian, Noterdaeme, Pasquier, Finley, Hayley, Petitjean, Patrick, Carithers, Bill, Bian, Fuyan, Miralda-Escudé, Jordi, Pâris, Isabelle, Schneider, Donald P., Zakamska, Nadia L., Ge, Jian, & Slosar, Anze. A glimpse at quasar host galaxy far-UV emission using damped Lyα's as natural coronagraphs. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/793/2/139
Cai, Zheng, Fan, Xiaohui, Wang, Ran, McGreer, Ian, Noterdaeme, Pasquier, Finley, Hayley, Petitjean, Patrick, Carithers, Bill, Bian, Fuyan, Miralda-Escudé, Jordi, Pâris, Isabelle, Schneider, Donald P., Zakamska, Nadia L., Ge, Jian, and Slosar, Anze. 2014. "A glimpse at quasar host galaxy far-UV emission using damped Lyα's as natural coronagraphs". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/793/2/139.
@article{osti_22370539,
title = {A glimpse at quasar host galaxy far-UV emission using damped Lyα's as natural coronagraphs},
author = {Cai, Zheng and Fan, Xiaohui and Wang, Ran and McGreer, Ian and Noterdaeme, Pasquier and Finley, Hayley and Petitjean, Patrick and Carithers, Bill and Bian, Fuyan and Miralda-Escudé, Jordi and Pâris, Isabelle and Schneider, Donald P. and Zakamska, Nadia L. and Ge, Jian and Slosar, Anze},
abstractNote = {In merger-driven models of massive galaxy evolution, the luminous quasar phase is expected to be accompanied by vigorous star formation in quasar host galaxies. In this paper, we use high column density damped Lyα (DLA) systems along quasar sight lines as natural coronagraphs to directly study the far-UV (FUV) radiation from the host galaxies of luminous background quasars. We have stacked the spectra of ∼2000 DLA systems (N {sub H} {sub I} > 10{sup 20.6} cm{sup –2}) with a median absorption redshift (z) = 2.6 selected from quasars observed in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. We detect residual flux in the dark troughs of the composite DLA spectra. The level of this residual flux significantly exceeds systematic errors in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey fiber sky subtraction; furthermore, the residual flux is strongly correlated with the continuum luminosity of the background quasar, while uncorrelated with DLA column density or metallicity. We conclude that the flux could be associated with the average FUV radiation from the background quasar host galaxies (with medium redshift (z) = 3.1) that is not blocked by the intervening DLA. Assuming that all of the detected flux originates from quasar hosts, for the highest quasar luminosity bin ((L) = 2.5 × 10{sup 13} L {sub ☉}), the host galaxy has an FUV intensity of 1.5 ± 0.2 × 10{sup 40} erg s{sup –1} Å{sup –1}; this corresponds to an unobscured UV star formation rate of 9 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/793/2/139},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22370539}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 2,
volume = 793,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}

Works referencing / citing this record:

The third release of the Large Quasar Astrometric Catalog (LQAC-3): a compilation of 321 957 objects
journal, October 2015


Directly imaging damped Ly α galaxies at z > 2 – III. The star formation rates of neutral gas reservoirs at z ∼ 2.7
journal, December 2014


QUASARS PROBING QUASARS. VIII. THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF THE COOL CIRCUMGALACTIC MEDIUM SURROUNDING z ∼ 2–3 MASSIVE GALAXIES HOSTING QUASARS
journal, October 2016


A Strange EUV Emission: Scattered Continuum in the Lyman Limit Absorption Edge toward the Quasar SDSS J125903.26+621211.5?
journal, August 2018