When it comes to teaching and tenure it is time to walk the walk.

Institutions should value teaching and service, and not just research, when considering faculty for promotion and tenure

Comparing Simulations and Observations of the Lyman-Alpha Forest I. Methodology

We describe techniques for comparing spectra extracted from cosmological simulations and observational data, using the same methodology to link Lyman-alpha properties derived from the simulations with properties derived from observational data. The eventual goal is to measure the coherence or clustering properties of Lyman-alpha absorbers using observations of quasar pairs and groups. We quantify the systematic underestimate in opacity that is inherent in the continuum fitting process of observed spectra over a range of resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. We present an automated process for detecting and selecting absorption features over the range of resolution and signal-to-noise of typical observational data on the Lyman-alpha "forest". Using these techniques, we detect coherence over transverse scales out to 500 h^{-1}_{50} kpc in spectra extracted from a cosmological simulation at z = 2.Comment: 52 pages, includes 14 figures, to appear in ApJ v566 Feb 200

The ultraviolet spectra of radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars

The rest-frame ultraviolet spectral properties of matched samples of radio-loud, radio-moderate, and radio-quiet quasars are investigated, using quasars drawn from the Large Bright QSO Survey. We confirm the absence of spectral differences between radio-loud and radio-quiet quasars at rest-frame wavelengths longward of 1600 Á, as reported by previous authors. However, at shorter wavelengths we find a significant difference: radio-loud quasars have narrower (96% confidence), higher equivalent-width (97% confidence) Lyman-a and C IV emission lines. We further investigate quasars which are radio quiet, but have radio-to-optical flux ratios at the upper extreme of the radio-quiet population. Broad absorption line quasars are overabundant by a factor of —10 in this radio-moderate population; the overabundance is significant at a 99.99% confidence level.The LBQS is supported by National Science Foundation Grant No. AST 90-01181, for which we are grateful. Peter Strittmatter kindly made funds available for publication. We also wish to thank Craig Foltz and Paul Hewett for many helpful discussions. P.J.F. is supported by a SERC/ NATO advanced fellowship

Lensed Quasar Hosts

Gravitational lensing assists in the detection of quasar hosts by amplifying and distorting the host light away from the unresolved quasar core images. We present the results of HST observations of 30 quasar hosts at redshifts 1 < z < 4.5. The hosts are small in size (r_e <~ 6 kpc), and span a range of morphologies consistent with early-types (though smaller in mass) to disky/late-type. The ratio of the black hole mass (MBH, from the virial technique) to the bulge mass (M_bulge, from the stellar luminosity) at 1<z<1.7 is broadly consistent with the local value; while MBH/M_bulge at z>1.7 is a factor of 3--6 higher than the local value. But, depending on the stellar content the ratio may decline at z>4 (if E/S0-like), flatten off to 6--10 times the local value (if Sbc-like), or continue to rise (if Im-like). We infer that galaxy bulge masses must have grown by a factor of 3--6 over the redshift range 3>z>1, and then changed little since z~1. This suggests that the peak epoch of galaxy formation for massive galaxies is above z~1. We also estimate the duty cycle of luminous AGNs at z>1 to be ~1%, or 10^7 yrs, with sizable scatter.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, review article with C. Impey at the conference on "QSO Host Galaxies: Evolution and Environment", Aug. 29-Sep. 2, 2005, Lorentz Center, Leiden, The Netherland