Observational evidence suggests that quasar activity plays an important role in regulating how galaxies and their nuclear supermassive black holes grow and co-evolve, despite their orders-of-magnitude difference in scale. In this talk, I will present a population of highly luminous dust-reddened quasars that may be the key to understanding this co-evolution. Red quasars are among the most intrinsically-luminous quasars in the Universe representing a short-lived phase in the lifetime of a quasar, during which their energy output (feedback) irrevocably impacts their host galaxies. Recent evidence has also shown that red quasars have enhanced radio emission, possibly linking the formation of jets to the merger phenomenon or exposing a different form of feedback in these systems, such as dusty radiation-driven winds. Red quasars are thus ideal laboratories for addressing fundamental questions on the co-evolution of black holes and their host galaxies as well as the physics of feedback. I will present findings from several surveys that are uncovering this elusive population of quasars using various selection methods across the electromagnetic spectrum to probe a broad range of redshift and luminosity regimes. 

Speaker: Eilat Glikman (Middlebury College)

All 2023 Spring Colloquium talks are held on Wednesdays at 3:00 PM.  You may join the colloquium in person at STScI’s John N. Bahcall Auditorium or virtually or at the links listed below. 

• Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/STScILiveScienceEvents
• Live Captioning Link: https://player.jetstreamexpress.com/STSI-ColloquiumSeries

Please direct questions or comments to contact above. The Spring Colloquium Committee members are: JHU Members: Kevin Schlaufman, Co-Chair, Ethan Vishniac, Arshia Jacob and STScI Members: Joel Green, Co-chair, Armin Rest, Co-chair and Andreea Petric.