Measuring the Interstellar Medium Content of Nearby, Luminous, Type 1 and Type 2 QSOs through CO and [C ii]

Yuanze Luo; A. O. Petric; R. M. J. Janssen; D. Fadda; N. Flagey; A. Omont; A. M. Jacob; K. Rowlands; K. Alatalo; N. Billot; T. Heckman; B. Husemann; D. Kakkad; M. Lacy; J. Marshall; R. Minchin; R. Minsley; N. Nesvadba; J. A. Otter; P. Patil; T. Urrutia

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adb13b

The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2025)

Measuring the Interstellar Medium Content of Nearby, Luminous, Type 1 and Type 2 QSOs through CO and [C ii]

Yuanze Luo,
A. O. Petric,
R. M. J. Janssen,
D. Fadda,
N. Flagey,
A. Omont,
A. M. Jacob,
K. Rowlands,
K. Alatalo,
N. Billot,
T. Heckman,
B. Husemann,
D. Kakkad,
M. Lacy,
J. Marshall,
R. Minchin,
R. Minsley,
N. Nesvadba,
J. A. Otter,
P. Patil,
T. Urrutia

Affiliations

Yuanze Luo: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
A. O. Petric: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
R. M. J. Janssen: ORCiD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology , Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
D. Fadda: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
N. Flagey: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
A. Omont: ORCiD; Sorbonne Université , UPMC Université Paris 6 and CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, France
A. M. Jacob: William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
K. Rowlands: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; AURA for ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
K. Alatalo: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
N. Billot: ORCiD; Université de Genève , Department of Astronomy, Chemin Pegasi 51/b, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
T. Heckman: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]; School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University , Tempe, AZ 85287-1404, USA
B. Husemann: ORCiD; European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites , Eumetsat Allee 1, 64295 Darmstadt, Germany
D. Kakkad: ORCiD; Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
M. Lacy: ORCiD; National Radio Astronomy Observatory , Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA
J. Marshall: Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California , Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
R. Minchin: ORCiD; National Radio Astronomy Observatory , P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
R. Minsley: Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Department of Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
N. Nesvadba: ORCiD; Université Côte d’Azur , Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France
J. A. Otter: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
P. Patil: ORCiD; William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University , Baltimore, MD 21218, USA ; [email protected]
T. Urrutia: ORCiD; Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik , Potsdam (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adb13b
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 981, no. 2
p. 194

Abstract

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We present observations of CO(1–0) and CO(2–1) lines from the Institut de radioastronomie millimétrique 30 m telescope toward 20 nearby, optically luminous type 2 quasars (QSO2s) and observations of the [C ii ] 158 μ m line from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy for five QSO2s in the CO sample and five type 1 quasars (QSO1s). In the traditional evolutionary scenario explaining different types of QSOs, obscured QSO2s emerge from gas-rich mergers observed as luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) and then turn into unobscured QSO1s as the black holes clear out the obscuring material in a blowout phase. We test the validity of this theoretical prediction by comparing the gas fractions and star formation efficiencies among LIRGs and QSOs. We find that CO luminosity, CO-derived gas masses, and gas fractions in QSO1s are consistent with those estimated for QSO2s, while LIRGs exhibit a closer resemblance to QSO2s in terms of CO-derived gas masses and gas fractions. Comparisons between [C ii ] luminosity and star formation tracers such as the CO and infrared luminosity imply additional sources of [C ii ] emission in QSO1s likely tracing neutral atomic or ionized gas with the caveat of a small sample size. All three types of galaxies have statistically indistinguishable distributions of star formation efficiency. Our results are consistent with part of the evolutionary scenario where nearby QSO2s could emerge from LIRGs, but they may not be the precursors of nearby QSO1s.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

ISSN: 1538-4357 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X

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