Near-Infrared Observations of the Environments of Radio-quiet QSOs at z >~ 1

August 1999 • 1999ApJ...520..469T

Authors • Teplitz, Harry I. • McLean, Ian S. • Malkan, Matthew A.

Abstract • We present the results of an infrared survey of QSO fields at z=0.95, 0.995, and 1.5. Each z<1 field was imaged to typical continuum limits of J=20.5, K^'=19 (5 σ) and line fluxes of 1.3×10^-16 ergs cm^-2 s^-1 (1 σ) in a 1% interference filter. Sixteen fields were chosen with z~0.95 targets, 14 with z~0.995, and six with z~1.5. A total area of 0.05 deg² was surveyed, and two emission-line objects were found. We present the infrared and optical photometry of these objects. Optical spectroscopy has confirmed the redshift of one object (at z=0.989) and is consistent with the other object having a similar redshift. We discuss the density of such objects across a range of redshifts from this survey and others in the literature. We also present number-magnitude counts for galaxies in the fields of radio quiet QSOs, supporting the interpretation that they exist in lower density environments than their radio-loud counterparts. The J-band number counts are among the first to be published in the J=16-20 range.

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Harry Teplitz

Senior Scientist