5,332 research outputs found
Clustering Analyses of 300,000 Photometrically Classified Quasars--II. The Excess on Very Small Scales
We study quasar clustering on small scales, modeling clustering amplitudes
using halo-driven dark matter descriptions. From 91 pairs on scales <35 kpc/h,
we detect only a slight excess in quasar clustering over our best-fit
large-scale model. Integrated across all redshifts, the implied quasar bias is
b_Q = 4.21+/-0.98 (b_Q = 3.93+/-0.71) at ~18 kpc/h (~28 kpc/h). Our best-fit
(real-space) power index is ~-2 (i.e., ), implying
steeper halo profiles than currently found in simulations. Alternatively,
quasar binaries with separation <35 kpc/h may trace merging galaxies, with
typical dynamical merger times t_d~(610+/-260)m^{-1/2} Myr/h, for quasars of
host halo mass m x 10^{12} Msolar/h. We find UVX quasars at ~28 kpc/h cluster
>5 times higher at z > 2, than at z < 2, at the level. However, as
the space density of quasars declines as z increases, an excess of quasar
binaries (over expectation) at z > 2 could be consistent with reduced merger
rates at z > 2 for the galaxies forming UVX quasars. Comparing our clustering
at ~28 kpc/h to a \xi(r)=(r/4.8\Mpch)^{-1.53} power-law, we find an upper
limit on any excess of a factor of 4.3+/-1.3, which, noting some caveats,
differs from large excesses recently measured for binary quasars, at
. We speculate that binary quasar surveys that are biased to z > 2
may find inflated clustering excesses when compared to models fit at z < 2. We
provide details of 111 photometrically classified quasar pairs with separations
<0.1'. Spectroscopy of these pairs could significantly constrain quasar
dynamics in merging galaxies.Comment: 12pages, 3 figures, 2 tables; uses amulateapj; accepted to Ap
Marketing data: Has the rise of impact factor led to the fall of objective language in the scientific article?
The language of science should be objective and detached and should place data in the appropriate context. The aim of this commentary was to explore the notion that recent trends in the use of language have led to a loss of objectivity in the presentation of scientific data. The relationship between the value-laden vocabulary and impact factor among fundamental biomedical research and clinical journals has been explored. It appears that fundamental research journals of high impact factors have experienced a rise in value-laden terms in the past 25 years
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 Imaging Data: Depth-Optimized Co-adds Over 300 Deg^2 in Five Filters
We present and release co-added images of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)
Stripe 82. Stripe 82 covers an area of 300 deg^2 on the Celestial Equator, and
has been repeatedly scanned 70-90 times in the ugriz bands by the SDSS imaging
survey. By making use of all available data in the SDSS archive, our co-added
images are optimized for depth. Input single-epoch frames were properly
processed and weighted based on seeing, sky transparency, and background noise
before co-addition. The resultant products are co-added science images and
their associated weight images that record relative weights at individual
pixels. The depths of the co-adds, measured as the 5 sigma detection limits of
the aperture (3.2 arcsec diameter) magnitudes for point sources, are roughly
23.9, 25.1, 24.6, 24.1, and 22.8 AB magnitudes in the five bands, respectively.
They are 1.9-2.2 mag deeper than the best SDSS single-epoch data. The co-added
images have good image quality, with an average point-spread function FWHM of
~1 arcsec in the r, i, and z bands. We also release object catalogs that were
made with SExtractor. These co-added products have many potential uses for
studies of galaxies, quasars, and Galactic structure. We further present and
release near-IR J-band images that cover ~90 deg^2 of Stripe 82. These images
were obtained using the NEWFIRM camera on the NOAO 4-m Mayall telescope, and
have a depth of about 20.0--20.5 Vega magnitudes (also 5 sigma detection limits
for point sources).Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ
Bayesian High-Redshift Quasar Classification from Optical and Mid-IR Photometry
We identify 885,503 type 1 quasar candidates to i<22 using the combination of
optical and mid-IR photometry. Optical photometry is taken from the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey-III: Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
(SDSS-III/BOSS), while mid-IR photometry comes from a combination of data from
the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) "ALLWISE" data release and
several large-area Spitzer Space Telescope fields. Selection is based on a
Bayesian kernel density algorithm with a training sample of 157,701
spectroscopically-confirmed type-1 quasars with both optical and mid-IR data.
Of the quasar candidates, 733,713 lack spectroscopic confirmation (and 305,623
are objects that we have not previously classified as photometric quasar
candidates). These candidates include 7874 objects targeted as high probability
potential quasars with 3.5<z<5 (of which 6779 are new photometric candidates).
Our algorithm is more complete to z>3.5 than the traditional mid-IR selection
"wedges" and to 2.2<z<3.5 quasars than the SDSS-III/BOSS project. Number counts
and luminosity function analysis suggests that the resulting catalog is
relatively complete to known quasars and is identifying new high-z quasars at
z>3. This catalog paves the way for luminosity-dependent clustering
investigations of large numbers of faint, high-redshift quasars and for further
machine learning quasar selection using Spitzer and WISE data combined with
other large-area optical imaging surveys.Comment: 54 pages, 17 figures; accepted by ApJS Data for tables 1 and 2
available at
http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~gtr/outgoing/optirqsos/data/master_quasar_catalogs.011414.fits.bz2
and
http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~gtr/outgoing/optirqsos/data/optical_ir_quasar_candidates.052015.fits.bz
The Properties of Radio Galaxies and the Effect of Environment in Large Scale Structures at
In this study we investigate 89 radio galaxies that are
spectroscopically-confirmed to be members of five large scale structures in the
redshift range of . Based on a two-stage classification
scheme, the radio galaxies are classified into three sub-classes: active
galactic nucleus (AGN), hybrid, and star-forming galaxy (SFG). We study the
properties of the three radio sub-classes and their global and local
environmental preferences. We find AGN hosts are the most massive population
and exhibit quiescence in their star-formation activity. The SFG population has
a comparable stellar mass to those hosting a radio AGN but are unequivocally
powered by star formation. Hybrids, though selected as an intermediate
population in our classification scheme, were found in almost all analyses to
be a unique type of radio galaxies rather than a mixture of AGN and SFGs. They
are dominated by a high-excitation radio galaxy (HERG) population. We discuss
environmental effects and scenarios for each sub-class. AGN tend to be
preferentially located in locally dense environments and in the cores of
clusters/groups, with these preferences persisting when comparing to galaxies
of similar colour and stellar mass, suggesting that their activity may be
ignited in the cluster/group virialized core regions. Conversely, SFGs exhibit
a strong preference for intermediate-density global environments, suggesting
that dusty starbursting activity in LSSs is largely driven by galaxy-galaxy
interactions and merging.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, accepted to MNRA
Physical Models for the Clustering of Obscured and Unobscured Quasars
Clustering measurements of obscured and unobscured quasars show that obscured
quasars reside in more massive dark matter halos than their unobscured
counterparts. These results are inconsistent with simple unified (torus)
scenarios, but might be explained by models in which the distribution of
obscuring material depends on Eddington ratio or galaxy stellar mass. We test
these possibilities by constructing simple physical models to compare to
observed AGN populations. We find that previously observed relationships
between obscuration and Eddington ratio or stellar mass are not sufficient
reproduce the observed quasar clustering results ( and for obscured and
unobscured populations, respectively) while maintaining the observed fraction
of obscured quasars (30-65). This work suggests that evolutionary models,
in which obscuration evolves on the typical timescale for black hole growth,
are necessary to understand the observed clustering of mid-IR selected quasars.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The z=5 Quasar Luminosity Function from SDSS Stripe 82
We present a measurement of the Type I quasar luminosity function at z=5
using a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed quasars selected from
optical imaging data. We measure the bright end (M_1450<-26) with Sloan Digital
Sky Survey (SDSS) data covering ~6000 deg^2, then extend to lower luminosities
(M_1450<-24) with newly discovered, faint z~5 quasars selected from 235 deg^2
of deep, coadded imaging in the SDSS Stripe 82 region (the celestial equator in
the Southern Galactic Cap). The faint sample includes 14 quasars with spectra
obtained as ancillary science targets in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), and 59 quasars observed at the MMT and Magellan
telescopes. We construct a well-defined sample of 4.7<z<5.1 quasars that is
highly complete, with 73 spectroscopic identifications out of 92 candidates.
Our color selection method is also highly efficient: of the 73 spectra
obtained, 71 are high redshift quasars. These observations reach below the
break in the luminosity function (M_1450* ~ -27). The bright end slope is steep
(beta <~ -4), with a constraint of beta < -3.1 at 95% confidence. The break
luminosity appears to evolve strongly at high redshift, providing an
explanation for the flattening of the bright end slope reported previously. We
find a factor of ~2 greater decrease in the number density of luminous quasars
(M_1450<-26) from z=5 to z=6 than from z=4 to z=5, suggesting a more rapid
decline in quasar activity at high redshift than found in previous surveys. Our
model for the quasar luminosity function predicts that quasars generate ~30% of
the ionizing photons required to keep the universe ionized at z=5.Comment: 29 pages, 22 figures, ApJ accepted (updated to published version
First Measurement of the Clustering Evolution of Photometrically-Classified Quasars
We present new measurements of the quasar autocorrelation from a sample of
\~80,000 photometrically-classified quasars taken from SDSS DR1. We find a
best-fit model of for the angular
autocorrelation, consistent with estimates from spectroscopic quasar surveys.
We show that only models with little or no evolution in the clustering of
quasars in comoving coordinates since z~1.4 can recover a scale-length
consistent with local galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). A model with
little evolution of quasar clustering in comoving coordinates is best explained
in the current cosmological paradigm by rapid evolution in quasar bias. We show
that quasar biasing must have changed from b_Q~3 at a (photometric) redshift of
z=2.2 to b_Q~1.2-1.3 by z=0.75. Such a rapid increase with redshift in biasing
implies that quasars at z~2 cannot be the progenitors of modern L* objects,
rather they must now reside in dense environments, such as clusters. Similarly,
the duration of the UVX quasar phase must be short enough to explain why local
UVX quasars reside in essentially unbiased structures. Our estimates of b_Q are
in good agreement with recent spectroscopic results, which demonstrate the
implied evolution in b_Q is consistent with quasars inhabiting halos of similar
mass at every redshift. Treating quasar clustering as a function of both
redshift and luminosity, we find no evidence for luminosity dependence in
quasar clustering, and that redshift evolution thus affects quasar clustering
more than changes in quasars' luminosity. We provide a new method for
quantifying stellar contamination in photometrically-classified quasar catalogs
via the correlation function.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, Accepted to ApJ after: (i) Minor
textual changes; (ii) extra points added to Fig.
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