English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

We used the Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 near-infrared camera to image thehost galaxies of a sample of eleven luminous, dust-reddened quasars at z ~ 2 --the peak epoch of black hole growth and star formation in the Universe -- totest the merger-driven picture for the co-evolution of galaxies and theirnuclear black holes. The red quasars come from the FIRST+2MASS red quasarsurvey and a newer, deeper, UKIDSS+FIRST sample. These dust-reddened quasarsare the most intrinsically luminous quasars in the Universe at all redshifts,and may represent the dust-clearing transitional phase in the merger-drivenblack hole growth scenario. Probing the host galaxies in rest-frame visiblelight, the HST images reveal that 8/10 of these quasars have actively merginghosts, while one source is reddened by an intervening lower redshift galaxyalong the line-of-sight. We study the morphological properties of the quasarhosts using parametric Sersic fits as well as the non-parametric estimators(Gini coefficient, M_{20} and asymmetry). Their properties are heterogeneousbut broadly consistent with the most extreme morphologies of local mergingsystems such as Ultraluminous Infrared galaxies. The red quasars have aluminosity range of log(L_bol) = 47.8 - 48.3 (erg/s) and the merger fraction oftheir AGN hosts is consistent with merger-driven models of luminous AGNactivity at z=2, which supports the picture in which luminous quasars andgalaxies co-evolve through major mergers that trigger both star formation andblack hole growth.

Major Mergers Host the Most Luminous Red Quasars at z ~ 2: A Hubble Space Telescope WFC3/IR Study