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Preprint
Infrared spectroscopic confirmation of z~2 photometrically-selected obscured quasars
04 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 ${\rm H\alpha}$, ${\rm H\beta}$, and/or ${\rm[ O~III]}$ 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 ${\rm
H\alpha}/{\rm H\beta}$ ratios, and we directly observe a heavily reddened
rest-frame optical continuum in several sources, suggesting high extinction
($A_V\sim7-20$ 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~2 photometrically-selected obscured quasars
- Creators
- Yuzo IshikawaBen WangNadia L ZakamskaGordon T RichardsJoseph F HennawiAngelica B Rivera
- Resource Type
- Preprint
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Physics
- Other Identifier
- 991020396224704721