We used the mm/sub-mm receivers on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) to observe the CO J=3--2, 2--1 lines in five local, optically powerful AGN and the J=4--3 line in 3C 293 (a powerful radio galaxy). Luminous CO J=3--2 emission and high CO (3--2)/(1--0) intensity ratios are found in all objects, indicating highly excited molecular gas. In 3C 293 an exceptionally bright CO J=4--3 line is found which cannot be easily explained given its quiescent star-forming environment and low AGN X-ray luminosity. In this object shocks emanating from a well-known interaction of a powerful jet with a dense ISM may be responsible for the high excitation of its molecular gas on galaxy-wide scales. Star formation can readily account for the gas excitation in the rest of the objects, although high X-ray AGN luminosities can also contribute significantly in two cases. Measuring and eventually imaging CO line ratios in local luminous QSO hosts can be done by a partially completed ALMA during its early phases of commissioning, promising a sensitive probe of starburst versus AGN activity in obscured environments at high linear resolutions.
Some recent observations of nearby quasars with HST have apparently failed to detect host galaxies. We review the HST observations as well as near infrared ground-based observations of the same objects. We find that the quasar hosts can be detected in the HST data if they are smoothed sufficiently to reveal low surface brightness. The smooth hosts are very difficult to detect with HST but are more easily visible in the deeper, ground-based IR images. The V-H colors obtained by combining the HST and IR data are compatible with normal galaxy colors at the redshifts of the quasars. This behavior …
HST images (with WFPC2) of PHL~909\ ($z = 0.171$) and PG~0052$+$251\ ($z = 0.155$) show that these luminous radio-quiet quasars each occur in an apparently normal host galaxy. The host galaxy of PHL~909 is an elliptical galaxy ($\sim$ E4) and the host of PG~0052$+$251 is a spiral ($\sim$~Sb). Both host galaxies are several tenths of a magnitude brighter than $L^*$, the characteristic Schechter luminosity of field galaxies. The images of PHL~909 and PG~0052$+$251, when compared with HST images of other objects in our sample of 20 luminous, small-redshift ($z \leq 0.30$) quasars, show that lumin…
We report on the results of 3--4 $μ$m spectroscopy of the ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) UGC 5101. It has a cool far-infrared color and a LINER-type optical spectrum, and so, based on a view gaining some currency, would be regarded as dominated by star formation. However, we find that it has strong 3.4 $μ$m carbonaceous dust absorption, low-equivalent-width 3.3 $μ$m polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission, and a small 3.3 $μ$m PAH to far-infrared luminosity ratio. This favors an alternative scenario, in which an energetically dominant AGN is present behind obscuring dust. The AG…
We present the results of a deep K-band imaging study which reveals the host galaxies around a sample of luminous radio-quiet quasars. The K-band images, obtained at UKIRT, are of sufficient quality to allow accurate modelling of the underlying host galaxy. Initially, the basic structure of the hosts is revealed using a modified Clean deconvolution routine optimised for this analysis. 2 of the 14 quasars are shown to have host galaxies with violently disturbed morphologies which cannot be modelled by smooth elliptical profiles. For the remainder of our sample, 2D models of the host and nuclear…
We present H-band observations of gravitationally lensed QSO host galaxies obtained with NICMOS on HST as part of the CfA-Arizona-Gravitational-Lens-Survey (CASTLES). The detections are greatly facilitated by the lensing magnification in these systems; we find that most hosts of radio-quiet QSOs (RQQ) at z~2 are of modest luminosity (L<L_*). They are 2-5 times fainter than the hosts of radio-loud QSOs at the same epoch. Compared to low redshifts, RQQ hosts at z~2 also support higher nuclear luminosities at given stellar host mass. This suggests that the supermassive black holes at their center…
We have obtained deep, near-IR images of nearly 100 host galaxies of nearby quasars and Seyferts. We find the near-IR light to be a good tracer of luminous mass in these galaxies. For the most luminous quasars there is a correlation between the maximum allowed B-band nuclear luminosity and the host galaxy mass, a ``luminosity/host-mass limit''. Comparing our images with images from HST, we find that the hosts of these very luminous quasars are likely early type galaxies, even for radio-quiet objects whose lower-luminosity counterparts traditionally live in spirals. We speculate that the lumino…
We present the results of our recent Hubble Space Telescope imaging study, in which we have successfully deconvolved host and nuclear flux for the some of the most luminous quasars in the Universe. Host morphologies have been recovered for each of our 17-strong sample. From these fits, we have estimated Black Hole masses through extrapolation of the Black Hole - Spheroid mass relation and begun to address the complicated issue of fuelling vs black hole mass in determining quasar luminosity: We find that the order-of-magnitude increase in luminosity is due to increased black hole size, and to i…
We report the detection of optical and X-ray variability in the least luminous known Seyfert galaxy, NGC4395. The featureless continuum changed by a factor of 2 in 6 months, which is typical of more luminous AGN. The largest variation was seen at shorter wavelengths, so that the spectrum becomes `harder' during higher activity states. In a one week optical broad band monitoring program, a 20% change was seen between successive nights. In a 1 month period the spectral shape changed from a power law with spectral index alpha ~0 (characteristic of quasars) to a spectral index alpha ~2 (as observe…
We present K-band imaging observations of ten Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) host galaxies. We compare their observed and absolute K magnitudes as well as their R-K colours with those of other distant sources detected in various optical, near-infrared, mid-infrared and submillimeter deep surveys. We find that the GRB host galaxies, most of them lying at 0.5<z<1.5, exhibit very blue colours, comparable to those of the faint blue star-forming sources at high redshift. They are sub-luminous in the K-band, suggesting a low stellar mass content. We do not find any GRB hosts harbouring R- and K-band properti…
We determine the contribution of AGN to the mid-IR emission of luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) at z>0.6 by measuring the mid-IR dust continuum slope of 20,039 mid-IR sources. The 24 micron sources are selected from a Spitzer/MIPS survey of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Boötes field and have corresponding 8 micron data from the IRAC Shallow Survey. There is a clear bimodal distribution in the 24 micron to 8 micron flux ratio. The X-ray detected sources fall within the peak corresponding to a flat spectrum in nufnu, implying that it is populated by AGN-dominated LIRGs, whereas the peak corr…
We briefly review and extend our discussion of the ROSAT detection of the extraordinarily luminous (>10^{42} erg/s) partly extended (> 30 kpc diameter) X-ray emission from the double-nucleus ultraluminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240. The ROSAT spectrum can be well fit by emission from two components in roughly equal proportions: a thermal optically thin plasma with kT \sim 0.6 keV and a hard component that can be represented by a canonical AGN powerlaw. Source counts appear to have dropped by 30% within a year. Altogether, these findings can be well explained by a contribution of radiation from a…
To understand luminous AGNs in the z<1 universe, the ASCA AGN samples are the best at present. Combining the identified sample of AGNs from ASCA Large Sky Survey and Medium Sensitivity Survey, the sample of hard X-ray selected AGNs have been expanded up to 108 AGNs above the flux limit of 10^{-13} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} in the 2-10 keV hard X-ray band. We discuss the fraction of absorbed AGNs in the hard X-ray selected AGN sample, and nature of absorbed luminous AGNs.
We investigate the relative importance of starbursts and AGN in nuclear activities of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) based on chemodynamical simulations combined with spectrophotometric synthesis codes. We numerically investigate both the gas accretion rates (m_acc) onto super massive black holes (SMBHs) and the star formation rates (m_sf) in ULIRGs formed by gas-rich galaxy mergers and thereby discuss what powers ULIRGs. Our principal results, which can be tested against observations, are as follows. (1) ULIRGs powered by AGN can be formed by major merging between luminous, gas-ric…
(abridged) We present near-infrared Ks-band imaging of 13 high redshift (0.6 < z < 1.3) BL Lac objects. We clearly detect the host in eight objects, and marginally in three others. In all cases, the host galaxy is well represented by an r^1/4 surface brightness law. The host galaxies of high redshift BL Lacs are large (<R(e)> ~7 kpc) and very luminous (<M(K)> = -27.9+-0.7), ~3 mag brighter than L*, and ~1 mag brighter than brightest cluster galaxies. They are also ~1 mag brighter than low redshift radio galaxies and appear to deviate from their K-z relationship. On the other hand, the high lum…
We present the first use of the Gemini North laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS AO) system and an integral field unit (IFU) to measure the stellar velocity dispersion of the host of a luminous quasar. The quasar PG1426+015 (z=0.086) was observed with the Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) on the 8m Gemini North telescope in the H-band as part of the Science Verification phase of the new ALTAIR LGS AO system. The NIFS IFU and LGS AO are well suited for host studies of luminous quasars because one can achieve a large ratio of host to quasar light. We have measured the stellar ve…
IRAM 30m observations reveal that the deeply obscured IR-luminous galaxy NGC4418 has a rich molecular chemistry - including unusually luminous HC3N line emission. We furthermore detect: ortho-H2CO 2-1, 3-2; CN 1-0, 2-1; HCO+, 1-0. 3-2, HCN 3-2, HNC 1-0, 3-2 (and tentatively OCS 12-11). The HCN, HCO+, H2CO and CN line emission can be fitted to densities of n=5 x 10E4 - 10E5 cm-3 and gas temperatures Tk=80-150 K. Both HNC and HC3N are, however, significantly more excited than the other species which requires higher gas densities - or radiative excitation through e.g. mid-IR pumping. The HCN line…
We present mid-infrared spectroscopy of a sample of 16 optically faint infrared luminous galaxies obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. These sources were jointly selected from Spitzer and Chandra imaging surveys in the NDWFS Bootes field and were selected from their bright X-ray fluxes to host luminous AGN. None of the spectra show significant emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs; 6.2um equivalent widths <0.2um), consistent with their infrared emission being dominated by AGN. Nine of the X-ray sources show 9.7um silicate absorption featu…
The nature and origin of the soft X-ray excess in radio quiet AGN is still an open issue. The interpretation in terms of thermal disc emission has been challanged by the discovery of the constancy of the effective temperature despite the wide range of Black Hole masses of the observed sources. Alternative models are reflection from ionized matter and absorption in a relativistically smeared wind. We analyzed XMM-Newton observations of four luminous radio quiet AGN with the aim of characterising their main properties and in particular the soft excess. Different spectral models for the soft exce…
We employ UV and optical photometry, from the GALEX and SDSS surveys respectively, to study the star formation histories of 561 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the nearby Universe. A small fraction (~4%) of these galaxies have spheroidal or near-spheroidal morphologies and could be progenitors of elliptical galaxies. The remaining galaxies are morphologically late-type or ongoing mergers. 61% of the LIRGs do not show signs of interactions, while the remaining objects are either interacting (~18%) or show post-merger morphologies (~19%). The (SSP-weighted) average age of the underlying st…
We report near-infrared (primarily H-band) adaptive optics (AO) imaging with the Gemini-N and Subaru Telescopes, of a representative sample of 32 nearby (z<0.3) QSOs selected from the Palomar-Green (PG) Bright Quasar Survey (BQS), in order to investigate the properties of the host galaxies. 2D modeling and visual inspection of the images shows that ~36% of the hosts are ellipticals, \~39% contain a prominent disk component, and ~25% are of undetermined type. 30% show obvious signs of disturbance. The mean M_H(host) = -24.82 (2.1L_H*), with a range -23.5 to -26.5 (~0.63 to 10 L_H*). At <L_H*, a…
We present stellar velocity dispersion measurements in the host galaxies of 10 luminous quasars (M_V < -23) using the Ca H&K lines in off-nuclear spectra. We combine these data with effective radii and magnitudes from the literature to place the host galaxies on the Fundamental Plane (FP) where their properties are compared to other types of galaxies. We find that the radio-loud (RL) QSO hosts have similar properties to massive elliptical galaxies, while the radio-quiet (RQ) hosts are more similar to intermediate mass galaxies. The RL hosts lie at the upper extreme of the FP due to their large…
We present sensitive 850 micron SCUBA photometry of a statistically-complete sample of six of the most luminous, z>4 radio-quiet quasars, reaching noise levels comparable with the deep blank sky surveys. One quasar (BR2237-0607; z=4.55) is detected at 850micron with a flux of 5.0mJy (4.5sigma), whilst a second (BR0019-1522; z=4.52) has a detection at the 2 sigma level. When combined with our previous millimetre measurements of z>4 quasars, we find that there is a large range (5--10) in far infrared (FIR) luminosity at fixed UV luminosity, and that the typical quasar has a L_FIR and mass of coo…
Hyper-Luminous Infrared Galaxies (HLIRGs) are the most luminous persistent objects in the Universe. They exhibit extremely high star formation rates, and most of them seem to harbour an AGN. They are unique laboratories to investigate utmost star formation, and its connection to super-massive black hole growth. X-ray studies of HLIRGs have the potential to unravel the AGN contribution to the bolometric output from these bright objects. We have selected a sample of 14 HLIRGs observed by XMM-Newton (type 1, type 2 AGN and starburst), 5 of which are candidates to be Compton-thick objects. This is…
We present results of a deep HST/WFPC2 imaging study of 17 quasars at z~0.4, designed to determine the properties of their host galaxies. The sample consists of quasars with absolute magnitudes in the range -24>M_V>-28, allowing us to investigate host galaxy properties across a decade in quasar luminosity, but at a single redshift. We find that the hosts of all the RLQs, and all the RQQs with nuclear luminosities M_V<-24, are massive bulge-dominated galaxies, confirming and extending the trends deduced from our previous studies. From the best-fitting model host galaxies we have estimated spher…
Morphological disturbances and gas kinematics of the SB0 galaxy NGC 7679=Arp 216 are investigated to get clues to the history of this highly composite object, where AGN and starburst signatures dominate each other in the X-ray and optical/IR regime, respectively. Perturbations of the ionized gas velocity field appear quite mild within 15'' (~5 kpc) from the center, so as it can be straightforwardly modeled as a circularly rotating disk. On the contrary, outside that radius, significant disturbances show up. In particular, the eastern distorted arm as well as the huge neutral hydrogen bridge co…
We perform a detailed investigation of moderate-to-high quality X-ray spectra of ten of the most luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs) known at z>4 (up to z~6.28). This study includes five new XMM observations and five archived X-ray observations (four by XMM and one by Chandra). We find that the X-ray power-law photon indices of our sample, composed of eight radio-quiet sources and two that are moderately radio loud, are not significantly different from those of lower redshift AGNs. The upper limits obtained on intrinsic neutral hydrogen column densities, N_H<~10^{22}-10^{23} cm^{-2}, indica…
We have performed 23 GHz VLA observations of 7 compact, luminous infrared galaxies, selected to have evidence of starburst activity. New and published multi-frequency data are combined to obtain the spectral energy distributions of all 7 galaxies from the near-infrared to the radio (at 1.4 GHz). These SEDs are compared with new models, for dust enshrouded galaxies, which account for both starburst and AGN components. In all 7 galaxies the starburst provides the dominant contribution to the infrared luminosity; in 4 sources no contribution from an AGN is required. Although AGN may contribute up…
Infrared observations of complete samples of active galactic nuclei (AGN) have shown that a substantial fraction of their bolometric luminosity is emitted at wavelengths ~8-1000microns. In radio-loud and Blazar-like objects much of this emission appears to be direct non-thermal synchrotron radiation. However, in the much larger numbers of radio-quiet AGN it is now clear that thermal dust emission is responsible for the bulk of radiation from the near-infrared through submillimeter wavelengths. Luminous infrared-selected AGN are often surrounded by powerful nuclear starbursts, both of which app…
We investigate morphological structure parameters and local environments of distant moderate-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN) host galaxies in the overlap between the HST/ACS observations of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) and the two Chandra Deep Fields. We compute near-neighbor counts and BViz asymmetry (A) and concentration (C) indices for ~35,500 GOODS/ACS galaxies complete to z_850 ~ 26.6, including the resolved hosts of 322 X-ray-selected AGNs. Distributions of (1) z_850 asymmetry for 130 AGN hosts at z_850 < 23 and (2) near-neighbor counts for 173 AGN hosts a…
Radio imaging of ULIR galaxies is ideal to explore the connection between the starburst and the AGN phenomenon since it is unaffected by dust obscuration, and provides the required high angular resolution to distinguish between an AGN and starburst emission. We have made combined 18cm radio continuum, EVN and MERLIN observations of 13 ULIRGs that have the parsec and deci-parsec scale resolution necessary to distinguish between an AGN and supernovae remnants at the centres of these galaxies, and assess the contribution of each to the total energy distribution. Images of four galaxies are presen…
NGC 7679 is a nearby luminous infrared Sy2 galaxy in which starburst and AGN activities co-exist. The ionization structure is maintained by both the AGN power-law continuum and starburst. The galaxy is a bright X-ray source possessing a low X-ray column density N_H < 4 x 10^20 cm^{-2}. The Compton-thin nature of such unabsorbed objects infers that the simple formulation of the Unified model for SyGs is not applicable in their case. The main goal of this article is to investigate both gas distribution and ionization structure in the circumnuclear region of NGC 7679 in search for the presence of…
We use HST/ACS images and a photometric catalog of the COSMOS field to analyze morphologies of the host galaxies of approximately 400 AGN candidates at redshifts 0.3 < z < 1.0. We compare the AGN hosts with a sample of non-active galaxies drawn from the COSMOS field to match the magnitude and redshift distribution of the AGN hosts. We perform 2-D surface brightness modeling with GALFIT to yield host galaxy and nuclear point source magnitudes. X-ray selected AGN host galaxy morphologies span a substantial range that peaks between those of early-type, bulge-dominated and late-type, disk-dominate…
Using broadband optical imaging and Chandra X-ray data for a sample of 46 cluster central dominant galaxies (CDGs), we investigate the connection between star formation, the intracluster medium (ICM), and the central active galactic nucleus (AGN). We report the discovery of a remarkably sharp threshold for the onset of star formation that occurs when the central cooling time of the hot atmosphere falls below ~ 5x10^8 yr, or equivalently when the central entropy falls below ~ 30 keV cm^2. In addition to this criterion, star formation in cooling flows also appears to require that the X-ray and g…
We present Spitzer IRS low resolution, mid-IR spectra of a sample of 25 high luminosity QSOs at 2<z<3.5. When combined with archival IRS observations of local, low luminosity type-I AGNs, the sample spans five orders of magnitude in luminosity. We find that the continuum dust thermal emission at lambda(rest)=6.7um is correlated with the optical luminosity, following the non-linear relation L(6.7um) propto L(5100A)^0.82. We also find an anti correlation between the ratio L(6.7um)/L(5100A) and the [OIII]5007A line luminosity. These effects are interpreted as a decreasing covering factor of the c…
Using an eigenspectrum decomposition technique, we separate the host galaxy from the broad line active galactic nucleus (AGN) in a set of 4666 spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), from redshifts near zero up to about 0.75. The decomposition technique uses separate sets of galaxy and quasar eigenspectra to efficiently and reliably separate the AGN and host spectroscopic components. The technique accurately reproduces the host galaxy spectrum, its contributing fraction, and its classification. We show how the accuracy of the decomposition depends upon S/N, host galaxy fraction, and …
[ABRIDGED] We recently presented evidence of a connection between the brightness profiles of nearby early-type galaxies and the properties of the AGN they host. The radio loudness of the AGN appears to be univocally related to the host's brightness profile: radio-loud nuclei are only hosted by ``core'' galaxies while radio-quiet AGN are only found in ``power-law'' galaxies. We extend our analysis here to a sample of 42 nearby (V < 7000 km/s) Seyfert galaxies hosted by early-type galaxies. We used the available HST images to study their brightness profiles. Having excluded complex and highly nu…
We present Infrared Space Observatory mid- and far-infrared spectroscopy of the merging galaxy NGC 6240, an object presenting many aspects of importance for the role of star formation and AGN activity in [ultra]luminous infrared galaxies. The mid-infrared spectrum shows starburst indicators in the form of low excitation fine-structure line emission and aromatic `PAH' features. A strong high excitation [OIV] line is observed which most likely originates in the Narrow Line Region of an optically obscured AGN. NGC 6240 shows extremely powerful emission in the pure rotational lines of molecular hy…
In this paper, results of optical identification of ASCA surveys are summarized. To understand luminous AGNs in the z<1 universe, the ASCA AGN sample is still better than samples of AGNs from deep Chandra or XMM-Newton surveys. Combining the identified sample of AGNs from ASCA Large Sky Survey and Medium Sensitivity Survey, the sample of hard X-ray selected AGNs have been expanded up to about 80 AGNs above the flux limit of 10^{-13} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} in the 2-10keV band. One fifth of the ASCA AGNs are absorbed narrow-line AGNs. The luminosity distribution of the absorbed AGNs is limited below…
We have selected a sample of X-ray emitting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in low-mass host galaxies (5e9-2e10 Msun) out to z~1. By comparing to AGNs in more massive hosts, we have found that the AGN spatial number density and the fraction of galaxies hosting AGNs depends strongly on the host mass, with the AGN host mass function peaking at intermediate mass and with the AGN fraction increasing with host mass. AGNs in low-mass hosts show strong cosmic evolution in comoving number density, the fraction of such galaxies hosting active nuclei and the comoving X-ray energy density. The integrated X…
We present the results on millimeter interferometric observations of four luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), Arp 220, Mrk 231, IRAS 08572+3915, and VV 114, and one Wolf-Rayet galaxy, He 2-10, using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA). Both the HCN(1-0) and HCO+(1-0) molecular lines were observed simultaneously and their brightness-temperature ratios were derived. High-quality infrared L-band (2.8-4.1 micron) spectra were also obtained for the four LIRGs to better constrain their energy sources deeply buried in dust and molecular gas. When combined with other LIRGs we have previously observed …
We investigate the luminous X-ray sources in the Lockman Hole (LH) and the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) detected at 24microns using MIPS and also with IRAC on board Spitzer. We assemble optical/infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for 45 X-ray/24micron sources in the EGS and LH. Only about 1/4 of the hard X-ray/24micron sources show pure type 1 AGN SEDs. More than half of the X-ray/24micron sources have stellar-emission-dominated or obscured SEDs, similar to those of local type 2 AGN and spiral/starburst galaxies. One-third of the sources detected in hard X-rays do not have a 24micron c…
The star-formation rates and the stellar masses of the host galaxies of AGNs at high-redshifts are keys to understanding the evolution of the relation between the mass of the spheroidal component of a galaxy and the mass of its central black hole. We investigate the host galaxies of 31 AGNs with spectroscopic redshifts between 2 and 4 found in the deep Chandra surveys of the GOODS fields with the ACS images. The sample can be divided into 17 ``extended'' AGNs and 14 ``compact'' AGNs based on the concentration parameter defined as the difference between the aperture magnitudes with 0.07" and 0.…
We have employed a reliable technique of classification of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) based on the fit of well-sampled spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with a complete set of AGN and starburst galaxy templates. We have compiled ultraviolet, optical, and infrared data for a sample of 116 AGN originally selected for their X-ray and mid-infrared emissions (96 with single detections and 20 with double optical counterparts). This is the most complete compilation of multiwavelength data for such a big sample of AGN in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). Through these SEDs, we are able to obtain hi…
