Journal article
Extremely red quasars in BOSS
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v 464(3), pp 3431-3463
01 Jan 2017
Abstract
Red quasars are candidate young objects in an early transition stage of massive galaxy evolution. Our team recently discovered a population of extremely red quasars (ERQs) in the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) that has a suite of peculiar emission-line properties including large rest equivalent widths (REWs), unusual 'wingless' line profiles, large N-V/L-y alpha, N-V/C (IV), Si (IV)/C (IV) and other flux ratios, and very broad and blueshifted [O (III)]lambda 5007. Here we present a new catalogue of C-IV and N-V emission-line data for 216 188 BOSS quasars to characterize the ERQ line properties further. We show that they depend sharply on UV-to-mid-IR colour, secondarily on REW(C (IV)), and not at all on luminosity or the Baldwin Effect. We identify a 'core' sample of 97 ERQs with nearly uniform peculiar properties selected via i-W3 >= 4.6 (AB) and REW(C (IV)) >= 100 angstrom at redshifts 2.0-3.4. A broader search finds 235 more red quasars with similar unusual characteristics. The core ERQs have median luminosity log L(ergs s(-1)) similar to 47.1, sky density 0.010 deg(-2), surprisingly flat/blue UV spectra given their red UV-to-mid-IR colours, and common outflow signatures including BALs or BAL-like features and large C (IV) emission-line blueshifts. Their SEDs and line properties are inconsistent with normal quasars behind a dust reddening screen. We argue that the core ERQs are a unique obscured quasar population with extreme physical conditions related to powerful outflows across the line-forming regions. Patchy obscuration by small dusty clouds could produce the observed UV extinctions without substantial UV reddening.
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Details
- Title
- Extremely red quasars in BOSS
- Creators
- Fred Hamann - University of California, RiversideNadia L. Zakamska - Johns Hopkins UniversityNicholas Ross - University of EdinburghIsabelle Paris - Trieste Astronomical ObservatoryRachael M. Alexandroff - Johns Hopkins UniversityCarolin Villforth - University of BathGordon T. Richards - Drexel UniversityHanna Herbst - University of Florida HealthW. Niel Brandt - Pennsylvania State UniversityBen Cook - Harvard University ,Kelly D. Denney - The Ohio State UniversityJenny E. Greene - Princeton UniversityDonald P. Schneider - Pennsylvania State UniversityMichael A. Strauss - Princeton University
- Publication Details
- Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v 464(3), pp 3431-3463
- Publisher
- Oxford Univ Press
- Number of pages
- 33
- Grant note
- University of Tokyo New York University Spanish Participation Group University of Cambridge University of Utah University of Florida Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE) 1302093 / Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) AST-1009628 / USA National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics Ohio State University Vanderbilt University U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science; United States Department of Energy (DOE) Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Carnegie Mellon University University of Washington German Participation Group Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias Princeton University University of Arizona Yale University New Mexico State University Pennsylvania State University Brookhaven National Laboratory; United States Department of Energy (DOE) University of Portsmouth Brazilian Participation Group Harvard University ST/L00481X/1 / STFC; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC) French Participation Group Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group University of Virginia National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) AST-1302093 / NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded under NSF grant; National Science Foundation (NSF) Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics Johns Hopkins University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000393647600070
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85014151377
- Other Identifier
- 991019168345204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Astronomy & Astrophysics