Testing the Merger Hypothesis for Black Hole/Galaxy Co-Evolution at z~2
We propose to use WFC3 in the near-infrared to image the host galaxies of a sample of luminous, dust-reddened quasars at z~2 to look for evidence of mergers and interaction. We have identified a large sample of red quasars by matching the FIRST and 2MASS surveys and spectroscopically following up very red objects. Detailed study of this population reveals that red quasars are the most intrinsically luminous objects in the Universe at all redshifts, and appear to represent a transitional phase in the merger-driven black hole growth scenario, based on Hubble Space Telescope imaging at z~0.7. The images proposed here will sample the host galaxies in rest-frame visible light, which will reveal the presence of any tidal features and other merger signatures. Since morphologies of the host galaxies of lower-luminosity AGN at z=2 do not support the merger-driven co-evolution picture, it is important to test this picture in high luminosity systems. Evidence for mergers in these quasar hosts would support a picture in which luminous quasars and galaxies co-evolve through major-mergers, which trigger both star formation and black hole growth. The absence of mergers in our data would call for a new theoretical framework for co-evolution.
We will image 11 F2M red quasars with z > 1.7 and for which we posses a near-infrared spectrum using broad WFC3 filters. The large amounts of absorption in these quasars minimizes contamination from the quasar and allows for better sensitivity to low surface brightness features in the host galaxies. We select WFC3-IR filters, chosen to straddle the 4000A break, in the quasars' rest frame. In order to facilitate the use of MultiDrizzle (or its successor, DrizzlePac) to improve the resolution of our final reduced images and to fully sample the PSF we will perform our observations using a 4 pointing box dither pattern. To reach a 3-sigma surface brightness depth of 25 magnitudes arcsec-2 extracted over a 2 x 2 pixel area in the H/F160W band, we require ~1600 seconds, which we will observe in 4 dithered frames.
We will obtain a shallower exposure of the quasar hosts in a bluer filter for color information and identification of dense star forming regions. In the bluer band (F105W or F125W depending on the redshift of the source) we will aim for a 3-sigma depth of ~24.7 AB magnitudes arcsec−2 extracted over a 2 x 2 pixel area. We will expose on F105W or F125W filters of ~900 seconds, respectively.
Since our sample of quasars spans a significant range in redshift and surface brightness
dims as (1+z)^5, we will increase the exposure time for the highest redshift (z > 2.2) quasars
to ensure a close uniform surface brightness limit for the sample as a whole.
AGN/QUASARS
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HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
J2000
J2000
K=15.25
GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
J2000
J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
J2000
J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
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J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
J2000
J2000
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GALAXY
HIGH REDSHIFT GALAXY
QUASAR
J2000
J2000
K=15.17
WFC3/IR
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No
F105W
WFC3/IR
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F160W
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No
F105W
WFC3/IR
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F160W
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F105W
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F160W
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F160W
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No
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No
F160W
WFC3/IR
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No
F105W
WFC3/IR
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No
F160W
WFC3/IR
Imaging
No
No
F125W
WFC3/IR
Imaging
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No
F160W
WFC3/IR
Imaging
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No
F125W
POS-TARG
DITHER
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LINE
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false
false
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WFC3-IR-DITHER-BOX-MIN
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