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Journal article
Infrared spectroscopic confirmation of z similar to 2 photometrically selected obscured quasars
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v 522(1), pp 350-361
13 Apr 2023
Abstract
The census of obscured quasar populations is incomplete and remains a major unsolved problem, especially at higher redshifts, where we expect a greater density of galaxy formation and quasar activity. We present Gemini GNIRS near-infrared spectroscopy of 24 luminous obscured quasar candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Stripe 82 region. The targets were photometrically selected using a WISE/W4 selection technique that is optimized to identify IR-bright and heavily reddened/optically obscured targets at z > 1. We detect emission lines of H alpha, H beta, and/or [O iii] in 23 sources allowing us to measure spectroscopic redshifts in the range 1 < z < 3 with bolometric luminosities spanning L = 10(46.3)-10(47.3) erg s(-1). We observe broad 10(3)-10(4) km s(-1) Balmer emissions with large H alpha/H beta ratios, and we directly observe a heavily reddened rest-frame optical continuum in several sources, suggesting high extinction (A(V) similar to 7-20 mag). Our observations demonstrate that such optical/infrared photometric selection successfully recovers high-redshift obscured quasars. The successful identification of previously undetected red, obscured high-redshift quasar candidates suggests that there are more obscured quasars yet to be discovered.
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Details
- Title
- Infrared spectroscopic confirmation of z similar to 2 photometrically selected obscured quasars
- Creators
- Yuzo Ishikawa (Corresponding Author) - Johns Hopkins UniversityBen Wang - Tsinghua UniversityNadia L. Zakamska - Johns Hopkins UniversityGordon T. Richards - Drexel UniversityJoseph F. Hennawi - Leiden UniversityAngelica B. Rivera - United States Naval Academy
- Publication Details
- Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, v 522(1), pp 350-361
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- J. Robert Oppenheimer Visiting Professorship NNX12AI49G; NNX17AF04G / NASA ADAP Space@Hopkins Graduate Fellowship Bershadsky Fund
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000991993800011
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85160405847
- Other Identifier
- 991020667651804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Astronomy & Astrophysics