We report on the detection of bright CO(4-3) line emission in two powerful, obscured quasars discovered in the SWIRE survey, SW022513 and SW022550 at z>3.4. We analyze the line strength and profile to determine the gas mass, dynamical mass and the gas dynamics for both galaxies. In SW022513 we may have found the first evidence for a molecular, AGN-driven wind in the early Universe. The line profile in SW022513 is broad (FWHM = 1000 km/s) and blueshifted by -200 km/s relative to systemic (where the systemic velocity is estimated from the narrow components of ionized gas lines, as is commonly done for AGN at low and high redshifts). SW022550 has a more regular, double-peaked profile, which is marginally spatially resolved in our data, consistent with either a merger or an extended disk. The molecular gas masses, 4x10^10 Msun, are large and account for <30% of the stellar mass, making these obscured QSOs as gas rich as other powerful CO emitting galaxies at high redshift, i.e., submillimeter galaxies. Our sources exhibit relatively lower star-formation efficiencies compared to other dusty, powerful starburst galaxies at high redshift. We speculate that this could be a consequence of the AGN perturbing the molecular gas.
We present near-infrared spectra, obtained with SINFONI and XShooter observations at ESO VLT, of nine dusty, red QSOs at 1.2<z<2.6. The sources are hard X-ray detected, characterized by cold absorption (N_H>10^{21} - 10^{22} cm^{-2}) and show a broad Ha component in the NIR spectra. We complement this sample with twelve additional sources taken from the literature with similar properties resulting in a total sample of 21 X-ray obscured, intermediate type (1.8-1.9), dusty reddened QSOs. From the broad Ha line we have computed the BH masses through the virial formula and derived Eddington ratios…
We use SDSS spectra and optical to far-infrared photometry for a sample of 31 FeLoBAL QSOs to study the relationship between the AGN-driven outflows, and obscured star formation in their host galaxies. We find that FeLoBAL QSOs invariably have IR luminosities exceeding 10^12 Solar luminosities. The AGN supplies 75% of the total IR emission, on average, but with a range from 20% to 100%. We find a clear anticorrelation between the strength of the AGN-driven outflows and the contribution from star formation to the total IR luminosity, with a much higher chance of seeing a starburst contribution …
We present the first measurement of the spatial clustering of mid-infrared selected obscured and unobscured quasars, using a sample in the redshift range 0.7 < z < 1.8 selected from the 9 deg^2 Bootes multiwavelength survey. Recently the Spitzer Space Telescope and X-ray observations have revealed large populations of obscured quasars that have been inferred from models of the X-ray background and supermassive black hole evolution. To date, little is known about obscured quasar clustering, which allows us to measure the masses of their host dark matter halos and explore their role in the cosmi…
We present new mid-infrared and submillimetre observations for a sample of eight high redshift type-2 QSOs located in the Chandra Deep Field South. The sources are X-ray absorbed with luminosities in excess of 10^44 erg/s. Two of the targets have robust detections, S/N > 4, while a further three targets are marginally detected with S/N > =2.5. All sources are detected in multiple mid-infrared bands with the Spitzer Space Telescope. The multiwavelength spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the type-2 QSOs are compared to those of two local ultraluminous galaxies (Arp220 and IR22491) in order …
We investigate the possibility of using the ratio between the 2-10 keV flux and the [Ne V]3426 emission line flux (X/NeV) as a diagnostic diagram to discover heavily obscured, possibly Compton-Thick Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) up to z~1.5. First, we calibrate a relation between X/NeV and the cold absorbing column density N_H using a sample of 74 bright, nearby Seyferts with both X-ray and [Ne V] data available in the literature. Similarly to what is found for the X-ray to [O III]5007 flux ratio (X/OIII), we found that the X/NeV ratio decreases towards large column densities. Essentially all l…
Recent detailed studies of Narrow Absorption Line (NAL) systems in QSO-spectra have revealed that at least 50% of QSOs have NALs associated with the central engine, and in most cases they are found to be outflowing. Will studies of NALs provide the much sort after evidence for ubiquitous QSO feedback that can halt the formation of stars in galaxies? I present new results on the distribution of line-of-sight velocity offsets between MgII absorbers and their background QSOs, based on a large catalogue of absorbers from SDSS DR6 and greatly improved QSO-redshift estimates. My analysis reveals a h…
We present optical to far-infrared photometry of 31 reddened QSOs that show evidence for radiatively driven outflows originating from AGN in their rest-frame UV spectra. We use these data to study the relationships between the AGN-driven outflows, and the AGN and starburst infrared luminosities. We find that FeLoBAL QSOs are invariably IR-luminous, with IR luminosities exceeding 10^{12} Solar luminosities in all cases. The AGN supplies 76% of the total IR emission, on average, but with a range from 20% to 100%. We find no evidence that the absolute luminosity of obscured star formation is affe…
During the last decade, strong observational evidence has been accumulated for the existence of massive, high velocity winds/outflows (aka Ultra Fast Outflows, UFOs) in nearby AGNs and in more distant quasars. Here we briefly review some of the most recent developments in this field and discuss the relevance of UFOs for both understanding the physics of accretion disk winds in AGNs, and for quantifying the global amount of AGN feedback on the surrounding medium.
We present near-IR spectroscopy of a sample of luminous (Lbol >10^14 Lsun), sub-millimeter-detected, dusty (M_dust~10^9 Msun), radio-quiet QSOs at z~2. We measure the redshift, width, and luminosity of the Halpha line, and the continuum luminosity near Ha. The Halpha emission line was strongly detected in all sources. Two components -- a very broad (>~5000 km/s) Gaussian and an intermediate-width (>~1500 km/s) Gaussian, were required to fit the Halpha profile of all observed QSOs. Narrow (<~1000 km/s) lines were not detected in the sample QSOs. Relative to the Halpha-derived QSO redshift, the …
Broad emission-line outflows of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been proposed for many years but are very difficult to quantitatively study because of the coexistence of the gravitationally-bound and outflow emission. We present detailed analysis of a heavily reddened quasar, SDSS J000610.67+121501.2, whose normal ultraviolet (UV) broad emission lines (BELs) are heavily suppressed by the Dusty Torus as a natural "Coronagraph", thus the blueshifted BELs (BBELs) can be reliably measured. The physical properties of the emission-line outflows are derived as follows: ionization parameter $U \sim…
(Abridged) We present a detailed analysis of a large sample of 31 low-redshift, mostly radio-quiet type 1 QSOs observed with integral field spectroscopy to study their extended emission-line regions (EELRs). We focus on the ionisation state of the gas, size and luminosity of extended narrow line regions (ENLRs), which corresponds to those parts of the EELR dominated by ionisation from the QSO, as well as the kinematics of the ionised gas. We detect EELRs around 19 of our 31 QSOs (61%) after deblending the unresolved QSO emission and the extended host galaxy light in the integral field data. We…
A simple mid-infrared-to-optical color criterion of R-[24]>14 Vega mag results in a robust selection of approximately half of the redshift 2 ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) population. These `Dust-Obscured Galaxies', or DOGs, have many properties that suggest that they are good candidates for systems in a transition phase between gas-rich mergers and QSOs.
We present the stacking analysis of a sample of 48 QSOs at 4.5<z<7.1 detected by ALMA in the [CII] 158 micron line to investigate the presence and the properties of massive, cold outflows traced by broad [CII] wings. We reveal very broad [CII] wings tracing the presence of outflows with velocities in excess of 1000 km/s. We find that the luminosity of the broad [CII] emission increases with LAGN, while it does not significantly depend on the SFR of the host galaxy, indicating that the central AGN is the main driving mechanism of the [CII] outflows in these powerful, distant QSOs. From the stac…
We present VLT/XSHOOTER rest-frame UV-optical spectra of 10 Hot Dust-Obscured Galaxies (Hot DOGs) at $z\sim2$ to investigate AGN diagnostics and to assess the presence and effect of ionized gas outflows. Most Hot DOGs in this sample are narrow-line dominated AGN (type 1.8 or higher), and have higher Balmer decrements than typical type 2 quasars. Almost all (8/9) sources show evidence for ionized gas outflows in the form of broad and blueshifted [O III] profiles, and some sources have such profiles in H$α$ (5/7) or [O II] (3/6). Combined with the literature, these results support additional sou…
We present results of our time variability studies of Mg II and Al III absorption lines in a sample of 22 Low Ionization Broad Absorption Line QSOs (LoBAL QSOs) at 0.2 <= zem <= 2.1 using the 2m telescope at IUCAA Girawali Observatory over a time-scale of 10 days to 7.69 years in the QSO's rest frame. Spectra are analysed in conjunction with photometric light curves from Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey. Long time-scale (i.e >= 1 year) absorption line variability is seen in 8 cases (36% systems) while only 4 of them (i.e 18% systems) show variability over short time-scales (i.e < 1 year). W…
Quasar feedback in the form of powerful outflows is invoked as a key mechanism to quench star formation in galaxies, preventing massive galaxies to over-grow and producing the red colors of ellipticals. On the other hand, some models are also requiring `positive' AGN feedback, inducing star formation in the host galaxy through enhanced gas pressure in the interstellar medium. However, finding observational evidence of the effects of both types of feedback is still one of the main challenges of extragalactic astronomy, as few observations of energetic and extended radiatively-driven winds are a…
We present X-shooter at the Vewry Large Telescope observations of a sample of 10 luminous, X-ray obscured QSOs at z$\sim1.5$ from the XMM-COSMOS survey, expected to be caught in the transitioning phase from starburst to active galactic nucleus (AGN)-dominated systems. The main selection criterion is X-ray detection at bright fluxes (L$>=10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$) coupled to red optical-to-NIR-to-MIR colors. Thanks to its large wavelength coverage, X-shooter allowed us to determine accurate redshifts from the presence of multiple emission lines for five out of six targets for which we had only a ph…
We report on VLT/FORS2 imaging polarimetry observations in the $R_{\rm special}$ band of WISE J011601.41-050504.0 (W0116-0505), a heavily obscured hyper-luminous quasar at $z=3.173$ classified as a Hot, Dust-Obscured Galaxy (Hot DOG) based on its mid-IR colors. Recently, Assef et al. (2020) identified W0116-0505 as having excess rest-frame optical/UV emission, and concluded this excess emission is most likely scattered light from the heavily obscured AGN. We find that the broad-band rest-frame UV flux is strongly linearly polarized (10.8$\pm$1.9\%, with a polarization angle of 74$\pm$9~deg), c…
SDSS J1356+1026 is a pair of interacting galaxies at redshift z=0.123 that hosts a luminous obscured quasar in its northern nucleus. Here we present two long-slit Magellan LDSS-3 spectra that reveal a pair of symmetric ~10 kpc-size outflows emerging from this nucleus, with observed expansion velocities of ~250 km/s in projection. We present a kinematic model of these outflows and argue that the deprojected physical velocities of expansion are likely ~1000 km/s and that the kinetic energy of the expanding shells is likely 10^44-10^45 erg/s, with an absolute minimum of >10^42 erg/s. Although a r…
We present results on low-resolution mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of 70 infrared-luminous galaxies obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) onboard Spitzer. We selected sources from the European Large Area Infrared Survey (ELAIS) with S15 > 0.8 mJy and photometric or spectroscopic z > 1. About half of the sample are QSOs in the optical, while the remaining sources are galaxies, comprising both obscured AGN and starbursts. We classify the spectra using well-known infrared diagnostics, as well as a new one that we propose, into three types of source: those dominated by an unobscured AGN (QSOs…
We present and analyse integral-field observations of six type-II QSOs with z=0.3-0.4, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Two of our sample are found to be surrounded by a nebula of warm ionized gas, with the largest nebula extending across 8" (40 kpc). Some regions of the extended nebulae show kinematics that are consistent with gravitational motion, while other regions show relatively perturbed kinematics: velocity shifts and line widths too large to be readily explained by gravitational motion. We propose that a ~20 kpc x20 kpc outflow is present in one of the galaxies. Poss…
Accounting for ~20% of the total QSO population, Broad Absorption Line QSOs are still an unsolved problem in the AGN context. They present wide troughs in the UV spectrum, due to material with velocities up to 0.2 c toward the observer. The two models proposed in literature try to explain them as a particular phase of the evolution of QSOs or as normal QSOs, but seen from a particular line of sight. We built a statistically complete sample of Radio-Loud BAL QSOs, and carried out an observing campaign to piece together the whole spectrum in the cm wavelength domain, and highlight all the possib…
We introduce an intrinsic Lyα emission line profile reconstruction method for high-$z$ quasars (QSOs). This approach utilises a covariance matrix of emission line properties obtained from a large, moderate-$z$ ($2 \leq z \leq 2.5$), high signal to noise (S/N > 15) sample of BOSS QSOs. For each QSO, we complete a Monte Carlo Markov Chain fitting of the continuum and emission line properties and perform a visual quality assessment to construct a large database of robustly fit spectra. With this dataset, we construct a covariance matrix to describe the correlations between the high ionisation emi…
We have used the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) to obtain far-UV spectra of three closely-spaced QSO sight lines that probe the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of an edge-on spiral galaxy, ESO 157-49, at impact parameters of 74 and 93 kpc near its major axis and 172 kpc along its minor axis. H I Lyα absorption is detected at the galaxy redshift in the spectra of all three QSOs, and metal lines of Si III, Si IV, and C IV are detected along the two major-axis sight lines. Photoionization models of these clouds suggest metallicities close to the galaxy metallicity, cloud sizes of ~1 kpc, and gas m…
We present a detailed analysis of the ionization and thermal structure of the intergalactic medium (IGM) around a high-redshift QSO using a large suite of cosmological, multi-frequency radiative transfer (RT) simulations, exploring the contribution from galaxies as well as the QSO, and the effect of X-rays and secondary ionization. We show that in high-z QSO environments both the central QSO and the surrounding galaxies concertedly control the reionization morphology of hydrogen and helium and have a non-linear impact on the thermal structure of the IGM. A QSO imprints a distinctive morphology…
We addressed the so far unexplored issue of outflows induced by exponentially growing power sources, focusing on early supermassive black holes (BHs). We assumed that these objects grow to $10^9\;M_{\odot}$ by z=6 by Eddington-limited accretion and convert 5% of their bolometric output into a wind. We first considered the case of energy-driven and momentum-driven outflows expanding in a region where the gas and total mass densities are uniform and equal to the average values in the Universe at $z>6$. We derived analytic solutions for the evolution of the outflow, finding that, for an exponenti…
Approximately 20% of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) exhibit broad, blue-shifted absorption lines in their ultraviolet spectra. Such features provide clear evidence for significant outflows from these systems, most likely in the form of accretion disk winds. These winds may represent the "quasar" mode of feedback that is often invoked in galaxy formation/evolution models, and they are also key to unification scenarios for active galactic nuclei (AGN) and QSOs. To test these ideas, we construct a simple benchmark model of an equatorial, biconical accretion disk wind in a QSO and use a Monte Carlo …
We present IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer observations of the 12CO(3-2) emission from two far-infrared luminous QSOs at z ~ 2.5 selected from the Herschel-ATLAS survey. These far-infrared bright QSOs were selected to have supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with masses similar to those thought to reside in sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) at z ~ 2.5; making them ideal candidates as systems in transition from an ultraluminous infrared galaxy phase to a sub-mm faint, unobscured, QSO. We detect 12CO(3-2) emission from both QSOs and we compare their baryonic, dynamical and SMBH masses to those of …
There exists a significant population of broad line, z~2 QSOs which have heavily absorbed X-ray spectra. Follow up observations in the submillimetre show that these QSOs are embedded in ultraluminous starburst galaxies, unlike most unabsorbed QSOs at the same redshifts and luminosities. Here we present X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton for a sample of 5 such X-ray absorbed QSOs that have been detected at submillimetre wavelengths. We also present spectra in the restframe ultraviolet from ground based telescopes. All 5 QSOs are found to exhibit strong C IV absorption lines in their ultraviolet spec…
We present a new X-ray spectroscopic study of $22$ luminous ($2\times10^{45}\lesssim L_{\rm bol}\rm /erg\,s^{-1} \lesssim 2\times10^{46}$) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at intermediate-redshift ($0.1 \lesssim z \lesssim 0.4$), as part of the SUpermassive Black hole Winds in the x-rAYS (SUBWAYS) sample, mostly composed of quasars (QSOs) and type\,1 AGN. Here, 17 targets were observed with \textit{XMM-Newton} between 2019--2020 and the remaining 5 are from previous observations. The aim of this large campaign ($1.45\,\rm Ms$ duration) is to characterise the various manifestations of winds in the…
Massive, galaxy-scale outflows are known to be ubiquitous in major mergers of disk galaxies in the local universe. In this paper, we explore the multiphase structure and power sources of galactic winds in six ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z < 0.06 using deep integral field spectroscopy with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini North. We probe the neutral, ionized, and dusty gas phases using Na I D, strong emission lines ([O I], Halpha, and [N II]), and continuum colors, respectively. We separate outflow motions from those due to rotation and tidal perturbations, …
We employ cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to investigate models in which the supermassive black holes (BHs) powering luminous z ~ 6 QSOs grow from massive seeds. We simulate at high resolution 18 fields sampling regions with densities ranging from the mean cosmic density all the way to the highest sigma peaks in the Millennium simulation volume. Only in the most massive halos, BHs can grow to masses up to ~ 10^9 Msun by z ~ 6 without invoking super-Eddington accretion. Accretion onto the most massive BHs becomes limited by thermal AGN feedback by z ~ 9-8 with further BH growth proceedi…
We study the transient (i.e. emerging or disappearing) C IV broad absorption line (BAL) components in 50 radio detected QSOs using multi-epoch spectra available in Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR10. We report the detectionof 6 BALQSOs having at least one distinct transient C IV absorption component. Based on the structure function analysis of optical light curves, we suggest that the transient absorption is unlikely to be triggered by continuum variations. Transient absorption components usually have low C IV equivalent widths (< 8 Å), high ejection velocities (> 10000 \kms) and typically occur ov…
We present the results of X-ray spectral analysis of two mini-BAL QSOs, PG 1126-041 and PG 1351+640, aimed at getting insights into the physics of quasar outflows. We find strong X-ray spectral variability on timescales of years. These variations can be well reproduced by variations of physical properties as the covering factor and column density of ionized gas along the line of sight, compatible with radiatively-driven accretion disk wind models.
We performed long-slit optical spectroscopy (GTC-OSIRIS) of 6 radio-loud QSOs at redshifts $2<z<3$, known to have giant ($\sim 50$-100 kpc) Lyman-$α$ emitting nebulae, and detect extended Lyman-$α$ emission for 4, with surface brightness $\sim10^{-16}$ ergs $\rm cm^{-2}s^{-1}arcsec^{-2}$ and line width FWHM 400-1100 (mean 863) km $\rm s^{-1}$. We also observed the $z\simeq 5.9$ radio-loud QSO, SDSS J2228+0110, and find evidence of a $\geq 10$ kpc extended Lyman-$α$ emission nebula, a new discovery for this high-redshift object. Spatially-resolved kinematics of the 5 nebulae are examined by fit…
We report X-ray constraints for 20 of 52 high-z ULIRGs identified in the Spitzer xFLS to constrain their obscuration. Notably, decomposition of Spitzer-IRS spectra for the 52 objects already indicates that most are weak-PAH ULIRGs dominated by hot-dust continua, characteristic of AGN. Given their redshifts, they have AGN bolometric luminosities of ~1e45-1e47 erg/s comparable to powerful QSOs. This, coupled with their high IR-to-optical ratios and often significant silicate absorption, strongly argues in favor of these mid-IR objects being heavily obscured QSOs. At X-ray energies, we marginally…
The most accepted scenario for the evolution of massive galaxies across cosmic time predicts a regulation based on the interplay between AGN feedback, which injects large amounts of energy in the host environment, and galaxy mergers, being able to trigger massive star formation events and accretion onto the supermassive black holes. Interacting systems hosting AGN are useful laboratories to get key insights into both phenomena. In this context, we present the analysis of the optical spectral properties of IRAS 20210+1121 (I20210), a merging system at $z = 0.056$. According to X-ray data, this …
The Ly$α$ emission is an important tracer of neutral gas in a circum-galactic medium (CGM) around high-z QSOs. The origin of Lya emission around QSOs is still under debate which has significant implications for galaxy formation and evolution. In this paper, we study Ly$α$ nebulae around two high redshift QSOs, SDSS J141935.58+525710.7 at $z=3.218$ (hereafter QSO1) and SDSS J141813.40+525240.4 at $z=3.287$ (hereafter QSO2), from the miniJPAS survey within the AEGIS field. Using the contiguous narrow-band (NB) images from the miniJPAS survey and SDSS spectra, we analyzed their morphology, nature…
Observations of the emission from spatially extended cold gas around bright high-redshift QSOs reveal surprisingly large velocity widths exceeding 2000 km s^(-1), out to projected distances as large as 30 kpc. The high velocity widths have been interpreted as the signature of powerful AGN-driven outflows. Naively, these findings appear in tension with hydrodynamic models in which AGN-driven outflows are energy-driven and thus very hot with typical temperatures T = 10^6-7 K. Using the moving-mesh code Arepo, we perform 'zoom-in' cosmological simulations of a z = 6 QSO and its environment, follo…
We present the discovery of compact, obscured star formation in galaxies at z ~ 0.6 that exhibit >1000 km/s outflows. Using optical morphologies from the Hubble Space Telescope and infrared photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, we estimate star formation rate (SFR) surface densities that approach Sigma_SFR ~ 3000 Msun/yr/kpc^2, comparable to the Eddington limit from radiation pressure on dust grains. We argue that feedback associated with a compact starburst in the form of radiation pressure from massive stars and ram pressure from supernovae and stellar winds is sufficient …
The Nv emission line of active galactic nuclei shows peculiar behavior in the line--continuum correlation, which may be indicative of an extra line component in addition to that from the normal broad emission line region. In this paper, we investigate possible contribution to the Nv emission via resonant scattering of both continuum and Ly alpha in a broad absorption line (BAL) outflow, by performing the Sobolev Monte Carlo simulations. The contribution is dependent on the covering factor, optical depth and velocity profile of the outflow, as well as the equivalent width (EW) of Ly alpha. Adop…
We report kinematic shift and strength variability of C IV broad absorption line (BAL) trough in two high-ionization X-ray bright QSOs SDSS J085551+375752 (at zem ~ 1.936) and SDSS J091127+055054 (at zem ~ 2.793). Both these QSOs have shown combination of profile shift, appearance and disappearance of absorption components belonging to a single BAL trough. The observed average kinematic shift of whole BAL profile resulted in an average deceleration of ~ -0.7 +- 0.1, -2.0 +- 0.1 cm/s^2 over a rest-frame time-span of 3.11 yr and 2.34 yr for SDSS J085551+375752 and SDSS J091127+055054, respective…
We present Keck laser guide star adaptive optics observations of the nearby buried QSO F08572+3915:NW. We use near-infrared integral field data taken with OSIRIS to reveal a compact disk and molecular outflow using Pa-alpha and H_2 rotational-vibrational transitions at a spatial resolution of 100 pc. The outflow emerges perpendicular to the disk into a bicone of one-sided opening angle 100 degrees up to distances of 400 pc from the nucleus. The integrated outflow velocities, which reach at least -1300 km/s, correspond exactly to those observed in (unresolved) OH absorption, but are smaller (la…
The origin of broad-absorption-line quasars (BAL QSOs) is still an open issue. Accounting for ~20% of the QSO population, these objects present broad absorption lines in their optical spectra generated from outflows with velocities up to 0.2c. In this work we present the results of a multi-frequency study of a well-defined radio-loud BAL QSO sample, and a comparison sample of radio-loud non-BAL QSOs, both selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We aim to test which of the currently-popular models for the BAL phenomenon - `orientation' or 'evolutionary' - best accounts for the radio …
We present a study of interstellar medium in the host galaxies of 9 QSOs at 0.1<z<0.2 with blackhole masses of $3\times10^7\,M_\odot$ to $3\times10^9\,M_\odot$ based on the far-IR spectroscopy taken with {\it Herschel Space Observatory}. We detect the [OI]63$μ$m ([CII]158$μ$m) emission in 6(8) out of 8(9) sources. Our QSO sample has far-infrared luminosities (LFIR)~several times $10^{11}L_\odot$. The observed line-to-LFIR ratios (LOI/LFIR and LCII/LFIR) are in the ranges of $2.6\times10^{-4}$-$10^{-2}$ and $2.8\times10^{-4}$-$2\times10^{-3}$ respectively (including upper limits). These ratios …
We have used data from the Herschel-ATLAS at 250, 350 and 500 μm to determine the far-infrared (FIR) properties of 50 Broad Absorption Line Quasars (BAL QSOs). Our sample contains 49 high-ionization BAL QSOs (HiBALs) and 1 low-ionization BAL QSO (LoBAL) which are compared against a sample of 329 non-BAL QSOs. These samples are matched over the redshift range 1.5 \leq z < 2.3 and in absolute i-band magnitude over the range -28 \leq M_{i} \leq -24. Of these, 3 BAL QSOs (HiBALs) and 27 non-BAL QSOs are detected at the > 5 sigma level. We calculate star-formation rates (SFR) for our individually d…
We describe a method to measure the M-sigma relation in the non-local universe using dust-obscured QSOs. We present results from a pilot sample of nine 2MASS red QSOs with redshifts 0.14<z<0.37. We find that there is an offset (0.8 dex, on average) between the position of our objects and the local relation for AGN, in the sense that the majority of red QSO hosts have lower velocity dispersions and/or more massive BHs than local galaxies. These results are in agreement with recent studies of AGN at similar and higher redshifts. This could indicate an unusually rapid growth in the host galaxies …
Accretion disk winds are thought to produce many of the characteristic features seen in the spectra of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). These outflows also represent a natural form of feedback between the central supermassive black hole and its host galaxy. The mechanism for driving this mass loss remains unknown, although radiation pressure mediated by spectral lines is a leading candidate. Here, we calculate the ionization state of, and emergent spectra for, the hydrodynamic simulation of a line-driven disk wind previously presented by Proga & Kallman (2004). To…
We report on our observations of the 79 and 119um doublet transitions of OH for 24 local (z<0.262) ULIRGs observed with Herschel-PACS as part of the Herschel ULIRG Survey (HERUS). Some OH119 profiles display a clear P-Cygni shape and therefore imply outflowing OH gas, other profiles are predominantly in absorption or are completely in emission. We find that the relative strength of the OH emission component decreases as the silicate absorption increases. This locates the OH outflows inside the obscured nuclei. The maximum outflow velocities for our sources range from less than 100 to 2000 km/s…
The absence of high Eddington ratio, obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in local ($z\lesssim0.1$) samples of moderate luminosity AGN has generally been explained to result from radiation pressure on the dusty gas governing the level of nuclear ($\lesssim10$pc) obscuration. However, very high accretion rates are routinely reported among obscured quasars at higher luminosities, and may require a different feedback mechanism. We compile constraints on obscuration and Eddington ratio for samples of X-ray, optical, infrared, and submm selected AGN at quasar luminosities. Whereas moderate luminos…
We explore the connection between black hole growth at the center of obscured quasars selected from the XMM-COSMOS survey and the physical properties of their host galaxies. We study a bolometric regime (<Lbol > 8 x 10^45 erg/s) where several theoretical models invoke major galaxy mergers as the main fueling channel for black hole accretion. We confirm that obscured quasars mainly reside in massive galaxies (Mstar>10^10 Msun) and that the fraction of galaxies hosting such powerful quasars monotonically increases with the stellar mass. We stress the limitation of the use of rest-frame color-mag…
We investigate the narrow-line region (NLR) of two radio-quiet QSOs, PG1012+008 and PG1307+085, using high signal-to-noise spatially resolved long-slit spectra obtained with FORS1 at the Very Large Telescope. Although the emission is dominated by the point-spread function of the nuclear source, we are able to detect extended NLR emission out to several kpc scales in both QSOs by subtracting the scaled central spectrum from outer spectra. In contrast to the nuclear spectrum, which shows a prominent blue wing and a broad line profile of the [O III] line, the extended emission reveals no clear si…
Broad absorption lines (BALs), seen in a small fraction of both the radio-quiet and radio-loud quasar populations, are probably caused by the outflow of gas with high velocities and are part of the accretion process. The presence of BALs is the geometrical effect and/or it is connected with the quasar evolution. Using the final release of FIRST survey combined with a A Catalog of BAL QSOs (SDSS/DR3), we have constructed a new sample of compact radio-loud BAL QSOs, which makes the majority of radio-loud BAL QSOs. The main goal of this project is to study the origin of BALs by analysis the BAL Q…
Quasar outflows may play important role in the evolution of its host galaxy and central black hole. In this paper, we present a detailed study of multiple outflows in the obscured ultra-luminous infrared quasar Q1321+058. The outflows reveal themselves in the complex optical and UV emission line spectrum, with a broad component blueshifted by 1650 km/s and a narrow component by 360 km/s, respectively.The higher velocity component shows ever strong N III] and strong Si III], in addition to strong [O III]5007 and [Ne III]3869 emission lines, suggesting an overabundance of N and Si relative to C.…
