Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21348411s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #484.11; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.455
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Quasars and AGN are widely thought to represent a phase of galaxy evolution common to most galaxy types, as evidenced by the prevalence of supermassive black holes found at the centers of galaxies. The timing of the quasar phase during a galaxy's evolution is less well understood. For example, the quasar could trigger a massive burst of star formation, or could have no direct effect on star formation, or the quasar could be responsible for quenching star formation in the host galaxy. The gas-phase abundance of the near-quasar environment has been probed out to high redshifts and has consistently shown metal abundances near or above the solar value. This result suggests that there is always significant star formation before the black hole becomes a luminous quasar. We investigate this phenomenon further at redshifts 3 to 4 by making extensive use of narrow absorption lines to probe the metallicities in a range of near-quasar environments. We detect a wide range of abundances, up to several times solar, confirming that star formation must have begun before the quasars began to shine. In addition, we directly compare quasar metallicities to star formation rates in the host galaxies using optical emission lines of quasars in hosts which are bright at sub-millimeter wavelengths. The sub-millimeter emission is an indication of current, ongoing massive starbursts in the galaxy, whereas the abundances of metals in the gas surrounding the quasar indicate the amount of past star formation before the quasar phase began. The results of this study further constrain the influences of black hole growth on star formation. Finally, we discuss early results from a Chandra program to study the X-ray properties of quasars with narrow associated absorption and to constrain the physical characteristics of the absorbing gas.
Hamann Fred
Simon Leah
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