Sub-millimeter detected z  ~  2 radio-quiet QSOs

Accurate redshifts, black hole masses, and inflow/outflow velocities

¹ Astronomy DepartmentUniversidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
e-mail: gorellana@udec.cl; nagar@astro-udec.cl
² ESA Astrophysics Missions Div, ESTEC/SRE-SA Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
³ Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield AL10 9AB, UK
⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via di Frascati 33, 00040 Monte Porzio Catone, Italy
⁵ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OHA, UK
⁶ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Universitá degli Studi di Firenze, Largo E. Fermi 2, Firenze, Italy
⁷ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy

Received: 22 September 2010
Accepted: 5 April 2011

Abstract

Context. We present near-IR spectroscopy of a sample of luminous (M_B − 27.5; L_bol > 10¹⁴ L_⊙), sub-millimeter-detected, dusty (M_d ~ 10⁹ M_⊙), radio-quiet quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) at z  ~  2.

Aims. A primary aim is to provide a more accurate QSO redshift determination in order to trace kinematics and inflows/outflows in these sub-mm bright QSOs. Additionally, the Hα and continuum properties allow an estimation of the black hole mass and accretion rate, offering insights into the starburst-AGN connection in sub-mm bright QSOs.

Methods. We measure the redshift, width, and luminosity of the Hα line, and the continuum luminosity near Hα. Relative velocity differences between Hα and rest-frame UV emission lines are used to study the presence and strength of outflows/inflows. Luminosities and line widths are used to estimate the black hole masses, bolometric luminosities, Eddington fractions, and accretion rates; these are compared to the star-formation-rate (SFR), estimated from the sub-mm derived far-infrared (FIR) luminosity. Finally our sub-mm-bright QSO sample is compared with other QSO samples at similar redshifts.

Results. The Hα emission line was strongly detected in all sources. Two components – a very broad (≳5000 km s^-1) Gaussian and an intermediate-width (≳1500 km s^-1) Gaussian, were required to fit the Hα profile of all observed QSOs. Narrow (≲1000 km s^-1) lines were not detected in the sample QSOs. The rest-frame UV emission lines in these sub-mm bright QSOs show larger than average blue-shifted velocities, potentially tracing strong – up to 3000 km s^-1 – outflows in the broad line region. With the exception of the one QSO which shows exceptionally broad Hα lines, the black hole masses of the QSO sample are in the range log M_BH = 9.0−9.7 and the Eddington fractions are between 0.5 and  ~1. In black hole mass and accretion rate, this sub-mm bright QSO sample is indistinguishable from the Shemmer et al. (2004, ApJ, 614, 547) optically-bright QSO sample at z  ~  2; the latter is likely dominated by sub-mm dim QSOs. Previous authors have demonstrated a correlation, over six orders of magnitude, between SFR and accretion rate in active galaxies: the sub-mm bright QSOs lie at the upper extremes of both quantities and their SFR is an order of magnitude higher than that predicted from the correlation.