arXiv subjects

Nicholas P. Ross

Publications and source records attributed to Nicholas P. Ross.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2021

Quasars at intermediate redshift are not special; but they are often satellites

Understanding the links between the activity of supermassive black holes (SMBH) at the centres of galaxies and their host dark matter haloes is a key question in modern astrophysics. The final data release of the SDSS-IV eBOSS provides the largest contemporary spectroscopic sample of galaxies and QSOs. Using this sample and covering the redshift interval $z=0.7-1.1$, we have measured the clustering properties of the eBOSS QSOs, Emission Line Galaxies (ELGs) and Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). We have also measured the fraction of QSOs as a function of the overdensity defined by the galaxy population. Using these measurements, we investigate how QSOs populate and sample the galaxy population, and how the host dark-matter haloes of QSOs sample the underlying halo distribution. We find that the probability of a galaxy hosting a QSO is independent of the host dark matter halo mass of the galaxy. We also find that about 60\% of eBOSS QSOs are hosted by LRGs and about 20-40\% of QSOs are hosted by satellite galaxies. We find a slight preference for QSOs to populate satellite galaxies over central galaxies. This is connected to the host halo mass distribution of different types of galaxies. Based on our analysis, QSOs should be hosted by a very broad distribution of haloes, and their occurrence should be modulated only by the efficiency of galaxy formation processes.

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arXiv2021

A Systematic Survey for z < 0.04 Changing-Look AGNs

We have conducted a systematic survey for z $<$ 0.04 active Galactic nuclei (AGNs) that may have changed spectral class over the past decade. We use SkyMapper, Pan-STARRS and the Véron-Cetty & Véron (2010) catalogue to search the entire sky for these ``changing-look'' AGNs using a variety of selection methods, where Pan-STARRS has a coverage of 3$π$ steradians (sky north of Declination $-30^\circ$) and SkyMapper has coverage of $\sim$ 21,000$~\rm{deg^2}$ (sky south of Declination $0^\circ$). We use small aperture photometry to measure how colour and flux have changed over time, where a change may indicate a change in spectral type. Optical colour and flux are used as a proxy for changing H$α$ equivalent width, while WISE 3.4 $μ$m flux is used to look for changes in the hot dust component. We have identified four AGNs with varying spectra selected using our optical colour selection method. Three AGNs were confirmed from recent observations with WiFeS on the 2.3 m telescope at Siding Spring and the other was identified from archival spectra alone. From this, we identify two new changing look AGNs; NGC 1346 and 2MASX J20075129-1108346. We also recover Mrk 915 and Mrk 609, which are known to have varying spectra in the literature, but they do not meet our specific criteria for changing look AGNs.

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arXiv2020

Behaviour of the MgII 2798AA Line Over the Full Range of AGN Variability

We investigate the responsiveness of the 2798AA Mg II broad emission line in AGN on timescales of several years. Our study is based on a sample of extremely variable AGN as well as a broad population sample. The observed response of the line in previous studies has been mixed. By focussing on extreme variability ($|Δg|>$ 1) we find that Mg II clearly does respond to the continuum. However, the degree of responsiveness varies strikingly from one object to another; we see cases of Mg II changing by as much as the continuum, more than the continuum, or very little at all. In 74% of the highly variable sample the behaviour of Mg II corresponds with that of H$β$, with 30% of the objects showing large variations in both lines. We do not detect any change in the line width that would correspond to Broad Line Region `breathing', in accordance with results from literature. Some of the objects in our highly variable sample show a clear asymmetry in the Mg II profile. This skewness can be both to the blue and the red of the line centre. Results from our broad population sample show that highly variable quasars have lower Eddington ratios. This result holds for the variability of the continuum, but the correlation is significantly reduced for the variability of the Mg II line. For the first time, we present an overview of the value of the intrinsic Baldwin Effect for Mg II in a large sample.

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arXiv2020

The Bolometric Quasar Luminosity Function at z = 0-7

In this paper, we provide updated constraints on the bolometric quasar luminosity function (QLF) from $z=0$ to $z=7$. The constraints are based on an observational compilation that includes observations in the rest-frame IR, B band, UV, soft and hard X-ray in past decades. Our method follows Hopkins et al. 2007 with an updated quasar SED model and bolometric and extinction corrections. The new best-fit bolometric quasar luminosity function behaves qualitatively different from the Hopkins et al. 2007 model at high redshift. Compared with the old model, the number density normalization decreases towards higher redshift and the bright-end slope is steeper at $z\gtrsim 2$. Due to the paucity of measurements at the faint end, the faint end slope at $z\gtrsim 5$ is quite uncertain. We present two models, one featuring a progressively steeper faint-end slope at higher redshift and the other featuring a shallow faint-end slope at $z\gtrsim 5$. Further multi-band observations of the faint-end QLF are needed to distinguish between these models. The evolutionary pattern of the bolometric QLF can be interpreted as an early phase likely dominated by the hierarchical assembly of structures and a late phase likely dominated by the quenching of galaxies. We explore the implications of this model on the ionizing photon production by quasars, the CXB spectrum, the SMBH mass density and mass functions. The predicted hydrogen photoionization rate contributed by quasars is subdominant during the epoch of reionization and only becomes important at $z\lesssim 3$. The predicted CXB spectrum, cosmic SMBH mass density and SMBH mass function are generally consistent with existing observations.

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arXiv2020

The Near and Mid-infrared photometric properties of known redshift $z\geq5$ Quasars

We assemble a catalogue of 488 spectroscopically confirmed very high ($z\geq5.00$) redshift quasars and report their near- ($ZYJHK_{s}/K$) and mid- (WISE W1234) infrared properties. 97\% of the VH$z$Q sample is detected in one or more NIR ($ZYJHK/K_{s}$) band, with lack of coverage rather than lack of depth being the reason for the non-detections. 389 (80\%) of the very high redshift quasars are detected at 3.4$μ$m in the W1 band from the unWISE catalog and all of the $z\geq7$ quasars are detected in both unWISE W1 and W2. Using archival WFCAM/UKIRT and VIRCAM/VISTA data we check for photometric variability that might be expected from super-Eddington accretion. We find 28 of the quasars have sufficient NIR measurements and signal-to-noise ratio to look for variability. Weak variability was detected in multiple bands of SDSS J0959+0227, and very marginally in the $Y$-band of MMT J0215-0529. Only one quasar, SDSS J0349+0034, shows significant differences between WFCAM and VISTA magnitudes in one band. With supermassive black hole accretion likely to be redshift invariant up to very high-redshift, further monitoring of these sources is warranted. All the data, analysis codes and plots used and generated here can be found at: https://github.com/d80b2t/VHzQ}{\tt github.com/d80b2t/VHzQ.

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arXiv2019

Through Andromeda and Beyond: AGN Optical Transient 'Sharov21' Revisited

We revisit a notable AGN known as `Sharov21', seen to undergo a dramatic outburst in 1992, brightening by a factor of thirty over a period of approximately one year. A simple microlensing model fit to the event lightcurve provides a constraint on the distance of the lensing object which is consistent with the distance to M31, strongly suggesting that this is the correct explanation. Archival XMM/Hubble/Spitzer data show that this AGN can be considered an otherwise unremarkable type-I AGN. Our analysis of the expected rate of background AGN being microlensed by a factor of two or more due to stellar-mass objects in M31 shows that events of this nature should only occur on average every half century. It is thus perhaps surprising that we have uncovered evidence for two more events that are qualitatively similar. A systematic search for new and archival events, with follow-up spectroscopy, is thus warranted.

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arXiv2019

The first high-redshift changing-look quasars

We report on three redshift $z>2$ quasars with dramatic changes in their C IV emission lines, the first sample of changing-look quasars (CLQs) at high redshift. This is also the first time the changing-look behaviour has been seen in a high-ionisation emission line. SDSS J1205+3422, J1638+2827, and J2228+2201 show interesting behaviour in their observed optical light curves, and subsequent spectroscopy shows significant changes in the C IV broad emission line, with both line collapse and emergence being displayed on rest-frame timescales of $\sim$240-1640 days. These are rapid changes, especially when considering virial black hole mass estimates of $M_{\rm BH} > 10^{9} M_{\odot}$ for all three quasars. Continuum and emission line measurements from the three quasars show changes in the continuum-equivalent width plane with the CLQs seen to be on the edge of the full population distribution, and showing indications of an intrinsic Baldwin effect. We put these observations in context with recent state-change models, and note that even in their observed low-state, the C IV CLQs are generally above $\sim$5\% in Eddington luminosity.

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arXiv2019

Host galaxies of high-redshift extremely red and obscured quasars

We present Hubble Space Telescope 1.4-1.6 micron images of the hosts of ten extremely red quasars (ERQs) and six type 2 quasar candidates at z=2-3. ERQs, whose bolometric luminosities range between 10^47 and 10^48 erg/sec, show spectroscopic signs of powerful ionized winds, whereas type 2 quasar candidates are less luminous and show only mild outflows. After performing careful subtraction of the quasar light, we clearly detect almost all host galaxies. The median rest-frame B-band luminosity of the ERQ hosts in our sample is 10^11.2 L_Sun, or 4 L* at this redshift. Two of the ten hosts of ERQs are in ongoing mergers. The hosts of the type 2 quasar candidates are 0.6 dex less luminous, with 2/6 in likely ongoing mergers. Intriguingly, despite some signs of interaction and presence of low-mass companions, our objects do not show nearly as much major merger activity as do high-redshift radio-loud galaxies and quasars. In the absence of an overt connection to major ongoing gas-rich merger activity, our observations are consistent with a model in which the near-Eddington accretion and strong feedback of ERQs are associated with relatively late stages of mergers resulting in early-type remnants. These results are in some tension with theoretical expectations of galaxy formation models, in which rapid black hole growth occurs within a short time of a major merger. Type 2 quasar candidates are less luminous, so they may instead be powered by internal galactic processes.

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arXiv2019

Understanding extreme quasar optical variability with CRTS: II. Changing-state quasars

We present the results of a systematic search for quasars in the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey exhibiting both strong photometric and spectroscopic variability over a decadal baseline. We identify 73 sources with specific patterns of optical and mid-IR photometric behavior and a defined spectroscopic change. These "Changing-State" quasars (CSQs) form a higher luminosity sample to complement existing sets of "Changing-Look" AGN and quasars in the literature. The CSQs (by selection) exhibit larger photometric variability than the CLQs. The spectroscopic variability is marginally stronger in the CSQs than CLQs as defined by the change in H$β$/[OIII] ratio. We find 36 sources with declining H$β$ flux, 37 sources with increasing H$β$ flux and discover seven sources with $z > 0.8$, further extending the redshift arm. Our CSQ sample compares to the literature CLQ objects in similar distributions of H$β$ flux ratios and differential Eddington ratios between high (bright) and low (dim) states. Taken as a whole, we find that this population of extreme varying quasars is associated with changes in the Eddington ratio and the timescales imply cooling/heating fronts propagating through the disk.

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arXiv2019

Opportunities in Time-Domain Extragalactic Astrophysics with the NASA Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam)

This White Pape motivates the time domain extragalactic science case for the NASA Near-Earth Object Camera (NEOCam). NEOCam is a NASA Planetary mission whose goal is to discover and characterize asteroids and comets, to assess the hazard to Earth from near-Earth objects, and to study the origin, evolution, and fate of asteroids and comets. NEOCam will, however, cover 68% of the extragalactic sky and as the NEOWISE-R mission has recently proved, infrared information is now vital for identifying and characterizing the $\gtrsim$10 million IR bright Active Galactic Nuclei, as well as using the IR light curve to provide deep insights into accretion disk astrophysics. NEOWISE-R data has also been used to discover Super-luminous Supernovae, dust echos in Tidal Disruption Events and detects all of the known $z\geq7$ quasars (and over 80% of the known $z\geq6.70$ quasars). As such, for relatively little additional cost, adding the capacity for additional NEOCam data processing (and/or alerting) would have a massive scientific and legacy impact on extragalactic time domain science.

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arXiv2019

AGN (and other) astrophysics with Gravitational Wave Events

The stellar mass binary black hole (sBBH) mergers presently detected by LIGO may originate wholly or in part from binary black hole mergers embedded in disks of gas around supermassive black holes. Determining the contribution of these active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks to the sBBH merger rate enables us to uniquely measure important parameters of AGN disks, including their typical density, aspect ratio, and lifetime, thereby putting unique limits on an important element of galaxy formation. For the first time, gravitational waves will allow us to reveal the properties of the hidden interior of AGN disks, while electromagnetic radiation (EM) probes the disk photosphere. The localization of sBBH merger events from LIGO is generally insufficient for association with a single EM counterpart. However, the contribution to the LIGO event rate from rare source types (such as AGNs) can be determined on a statistical basis. To determine the contribution to the sBBH rate from AGNs in the next decade requires: {\em 1) a complete galaxy catalog for the LIGO search volume, 2) strategic multi-wavelength EM follow-up of LIGO events and 3) significant advances in theoretical understanding of AGN disks and the behavior of objects embedded within them.}

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arXiv2019

Changing-Look Quasar Candidates: First Results from Follow-up Spectroscopy of Highly Optically Variable Quasars

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) that show strong rest-frame optical/UV variability in their blue continuum and broad line emission are classified as "changing-look" AGN, or at higher luminosities changing look quasars (CLQs). These surprisingly large and sometimes rapid transitions challenge accepted models of quasar physics and duty cycles, offer several new avenues for study of quasar host galaxies, and open a wider interpretation of the cause of differences between broad and narrow line AGN. To better characterize extreme quasar variability, we present follow-up spectroscopy as part of a comprehensive search for CLQs across the full SDSS footprint using spectroscopically confirmed quasars from the SDSS DR7 catalog. Our primary selection requires large-amplitude (|Δg|>1 mag, |Δr|>0.5 mag) variability over any of the available time baselines probed by the SDSS and Pan-STARRS 1 surveys. We employ photometry from the Catalina Sky Survey to verify variability behavior in CLQ candidates where available, and confirm CLQs using optical spectroscopy from the William Herschel, MMT, Magellan, and Palomar telescopes. For our adopted S/N threshold on variability of broad Hβemission, we find 17 new CLQs, yielding a confirmation rate of >~ 20%. These candidates are at lower Eddington ratio relative to the overall quasar population which supports a disk-wind model for the broad line region. Based on our sample, the CLQ fraction increases from 10% to roughly half as the continuum flux ratio between repeat spectra at 3420 Angstroms increases from 1.5 to 6. We release a catalog of over 200 highly variable candidates to facilitate future CLQ searches.

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arXiv2018

A new physical interpretation of optical and infrared variability in quasars

Changing-look quasars are a recently identified class of active galaxies in which the strong UV continuum and/or broad optical hydrogen emission lines associated with unobscured quasars either appear or disappear on timescales of months to years. The physical processes responsible for this behaviour are still debated, but changes in the black hole accretion rate or accretion disk structure appear more likely than changes in obscuration. Here we report on four epochs of spectroscopy of SDSS J110057.70-005304.5, a quasar at a redshift of $z=0.378$ whose UV continuum and broad hydrogen emission lines have faded, and then returned over the past $\approx$20 years. The change in this quasar was initially identified in the infrared, and an archival spectrum from 2010 shows an intermediate phase of the transition during which the flux below rest-frame $\approx$3400Å has decreased by close to an order of magnitude. This combination is unique compared to previously published examples of changing-look quasars, and is best explained by dramatic changes in the innermost regions of the accretion disk. The optical continuum has been rising since mid-2016, leading to a prediction of a rise in hydrogen emission line flux in the next year. Increases in the infrared flux are beginning to follow, delayed by a $\sim$3 year observed timescale. If our model is confirmed, the physics of changing-look quasars are governed by processes at the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) around the black hole, and the structure of the innermost disk. The easily identifiable and monitored changing-look quasars would then provide a new probe and laboratory of the nuclear central engine.

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arXiv2018

Spectropolarimetry of High Redshift Obscured and Red Quasars

Spectropolarimetry is a powerful technique that has provided critical support for the geometric unification model of local active galactic nuclei. In this paper, we present optical (rest-frame UV) Keck spectropolarimetry of five luminous obscured (Type 2) and extremely red quasars (ERQs) at z~2.5. Three objects reach polarization fractions of >10% in the continuum. We propose a model in which dust scattering is the dominant scattering and polarization mechanism in our targets, though electron scattering cannot be completely excluded. Emission lines are polarized at a lower level than is the continuum. This suggests that the emission-line region exists on similar spatial scales as the scattering region. In three objects we detect an intriguing 90 degree swing in the polarization position angle as a function of line-of-sight velocity in the emission lines of Ly-alpha, CIV and NV. We interpret this phenomenon in the framework of a geometric model with an equatorial dusty scattering region in which the material is outflowing at several thousand km/sec. Emission lines may also be scattered by dust or resonantly. This model explains several salient features of observations by scattering on scales of a few tens of pc. Our observations provide a tantalizing view of the inner region geometry and kinematics of high-redshift obscured and extremely red quasars. Our data and modeling lend strong support for toroidal obscuration and powerful outflows on the scales of the UV emission-line region, in addition to the larger scale outflows inferred previously from the optical emission-line kinematics.

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arXiv2018

The Clustering of High-Redshift (2.9 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 5.1) Quasars in SDSS Stripe 82

We present a measurement of the two-point autocorrelation function of photometrically-selected, high-$z$ quasars over $\sim$ 100 deg$^2$ on the Sloan Digitial Sky Survey Stripe 82 field. Selection is performed using three machine-learning algorithms, trained on known high-$z$ quasar colors, in a six-dimensional, optical/mid-infrared color space. Optical data from the Sloan Digitial Sky Survey is combined with overlapping deep mid-infrared data from the \emph{Spitzer} IRAC Equatorial Survey and the \emph{Spitzer}-HETDEX Exploratory Large-area survey. The selected quasar sample consists of 1378 objects and contains both spectroscopically-confirmed quasars and photometrically-selected quasar candidates. These objects span a redshift range of $2.9 \leq z \leq 5.1$ and are generally fainter than $i=20.2$; a regime which has lacked sufficient number density to perform autocorrelation function measurements of photometrically-classified quasars. We compute the angular correlation function of these data, marginally detecting quasar clustering. We fit a single power-law with an index of $δ= 1.39 \pm 0.618$ and amplitude of $θ_0 = 0.71 \pm 0.546$ arcmin. A dark-matter model is fit to the angular correlation function to estimate the linear bias. At the average redshift of our survey ($\langle z \rangle = 3.38$) the bias is $b = 6.78 \pm 1.79$. Using this bias, we calculate a characteristic dark-matter halo mass of 1.70--9.83$\times 10^{12}h^{-1} M_{\odot}$. Our bias estimate suggests that quasar feedback intermittently shuts down the accretion of gas onto the central super-massive black hole at early times. If confirmed, these results hint at a level of luminosity dependence in the clustering of quasars at high-$z$.

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arXiv2018

A Mid-IR Selected Changing-Look Quasar and Physical Scenarios for Abrupt AGN Fading

We report a new changing-look quasar, WISE~J105203.55+151929.5 at $z=0.303$, found by identifying highly mid-IR variable quasars in the WISE/NEOWISE data stream. Compared to multi-epoch mid-IR photometry of a large sample of SDSS-confirmed quasars, WISE J1052+1519 is an extreme photometric outlier, fading by more than a factor of two at $3.4$ and $4.6 μ$m since 2009. Swift target-of-opportunity observations in 2017 show even stronger fading in the soft X-rays compared to the ROSAT detection of this source in 1995, with at least a factor of fifteen decrease. We obtained second-epoch spectroscopy with the Palomar telescope in 2017 which, when compared with the 2006 archival SDSS spectrum, reveals that the broad H$β$ emission has vanished and that the quasar has become significantly redder. The two most likely interpretations for this dramatic change are source fading or obscuration, where the latter is strongly disfavored by the mid-IR data. We discuss various physical scenarios that could cause such changes in the quasar luminosity over this timescale, and favor changes in the innermost regions of the accretion disk that occur on the thermal and heating/cooling front timescales. We discuss possible physical triggers that could cause these changes, and predict the multiwavelength signatures that could distinguish these physical scenarios.

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arXiv2017

Baryon acoustic oscillations from the complete SDSS-III Ly$α$-quasar cross-correlation function at $z=2.4$

We present a measurement of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the cross-correlation of quasars with the Ly$α$-forest flux-transmission at a mean redshift $z=2.40$. The measurement uses the complete SDSS-III data sample: 168,889 forests and 234,367 quasars from the SDSS Data Release DR12. In addition to the statistical improvement on our previous study using DR11, we have implemented numerous improvements at the analysis level allowing a more accurate measurement of this cross-correlation. We also developed the first simulations of the cross-correlation allowing us to test different aspects of our data analysis and to search for potential systematic errors in the determination of the BAO peak position. We measure the two ratios $D_{H}(z=2.40)/r_{d} = 9.01 \pm 0.36$ and $D_{M}(z=2.40)/r_{d} = 35.7 \pm 1.7$, where the errors include marginalization over the non-linear velocity of quasars and the metal - quasar cross-correlation contribution, among other effects. These results are within $1.8σ$ of the prediction of the flat-$Λ$CDM model describing the observed CMB anisotropies. We combine this study with the Ly$α$-forest auto-correlation function [2017A&A...603A..12B], yielding $D_{H}(z=2.40)/r_{d} = 8.94 \pm 0.22$ and $D_{M}(z=2.40)/r_{d} = 36.6 \pm 1.2$, within $2.3σ$ of the same flat-$Λ$CDM model.

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arXiv2017

Measurement of BAO correlations at $z=2.3$ with SDSS DR12 \lya-Forests

We use flux-transmission correlations in \Lya forests to measure the imprint of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO). The study uses spectra of 157,783 quasars in the redshift range $2.1\le z \le 3.5$ from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 12 (DR12). Besides the statistical improvements on our previous studies using SDSS DR9 and DR11, we have implemented numerous improvements in the analysis procedure, allowing us to construct a physical model of the correlation function and to investigate potential systematic errors in the determination of the BAO peak position. The Hubble distance, $\DHub=c/H(z)$, relative to the sound horizon is $\DHub(z=2.33)/r_d=9.07 \pm 0.31$. The best-determined combination of comoving angular-diameter distance, $\DM$, and the Hubble distance is found to be $\DHub^{0.7}\DM^{0.3}/r_d=13.94\pm0.35$. This value is $1.028\pm0.026$ times the prediction of the flat-\lcdm model consistent with the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy spectrum. The errors include marginalization over the effects of unidentified high-density absorption systems and fluctuations in ultraviolet ionizing radiation. Independently of the CMB measurements, the combination of our results and other BAO observations determine the open-\lcdm density parameters to be $\om=0.296 \pm 0.029$, $\ol=0.699 \pm 0.100$ and $Ω_k = -0.002 \pm 0.119$.

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