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1. Blazar candidates behind the Magellanic Clouds
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/867/131
Title:
Blazar candidates behind the Magellanic Clouds
Short Name:
J/ApJ/867/131
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We report the identification of blazar candidates behind the Magellanic Clouds. The objects were selected from the Magellanic Quasars Survey (MQS), which targeted the entire Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and 70% of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Among the 758 MQS quasars and 898 of the unidentified (featureless spectra) objects, we identified a sample of 44 blazar candidates, including 27 flat-spectrum radio quasars and 17 BL Lacertae objects, respectively. All the blazar candidates from our sample were identified with respect to their radio, optical, and midinfrared properties. The newly selected blazar candidates possess the long-term, multicolor photometric data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, multicolor midinfrared observations, and archival radio data for one frequency at least. In addition, for nine of them, the radio polarization data are available. With such data, these objects can be used to study the physics behind the blazar variability detected in the optical and midinfrared bands, as a tool to investigate magnetic field geometry of the LMC and SMC, and as an exemplary sample of point-like sources most likely detectable in the {gamma}-ray range with the newly emerging Cherenkov Telescope Array.
2. Bright QSOs in Southern Hemisphere (QUBRICS)
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/887/268
Title:
Bright QSOs in Southern Hemisphere (QUBRICS)
Short Name:
J/ApJ/887/268
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
The study of absorptions along the lines of sight to bright high-z QSOs is an invaluable cosmological tool that provides a wealth of information on the inter-/circum-galactic medium, dark matter, primordial elements, reionization, fundamental constants, and general relativity. Unfortunately, the number of bright (i<~18) QSOs at z>~2 in the southern hemisphere is much lower than that in the north, due to the lack of wide multiwavelength surveys at decl. {delta}<0{deg}, hampering the effectiveness of observations from southern observatories. In this work we present a new method based on Canonical Correlation Analysis to identify such objects, taking advantage of a number of available databases: Skymapper, Gaia DR2, WISE, and 2MASS. Our QSO candidate sample lists 1476 sources with i<18 over 12400deg^2^ in the southern hemisphere. With a preliminary campaign we observed spectroscopically 69 of them, confirming 54 new bright QSOs at z>2.5, corresponding to a success rate of our method of ~80%. Furthermore, we estimate a completeness of ~90% of our sample at completion of our observation campaign. The new QSOs confirmed by this first and the forthcoming campaigns (QUBRICS survey) will be the targets of subsequent studies using higher resolution spectrographs, like ESPRESSO, UVES, and (in the long term) ELT/HIRES.
3. Continuum-band lags in SDSS QSOs from PS1 obs.
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/836/186
Title:
Continuum-band lags in SDSS QSOs from PS1 obs.
Short Name:
J/ApJ/836/186
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We study the time lags between the continuum emission of quasars at different wavelengths, based on more than four years of multi-band (g, r, i, z) light curves in the Pan-STARRS Medium Deep Fields. As photons from different bands emerge from different radial ranges in the accretion disk, the lags constrain the sizes of the accretion disks. We select 240 quasars with redshifts of z~1 or z~0.3 that are relatively emission-line free. The light curves are sampled from day to month timescales, which makes it possible to detect lags on the scale of the light crossing time of the accretion disks. With the code JAVELIN, we detect typical lags of several days in the rest frame between the g band and the riz bands. The detected lags are ~2-3 times larger than the light crossing time estimated from the standard thin disk model, consistent with the recently measured lag in NGC 5548 and microlensing measurements of quasars. The lags in our sample are found to increase with increasing luminosity. Furthermore, the increase in lags going from g-r to g-i and then to g-z is slower than predicted in the thin disk model, particularly for high-luminosity quasars. The radial temperature profile in the disk must be different from what is assumed. We also find evidence that the lags decrease with increasing line ratios between ultraviolet Fe II lines and Mg II, which may point to changes in the accretion disk structure at higher metallicity.
4. ELQS in SDSS. III. The full ELQS quasar catalog
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/871/258
Title:
ELQS in SDSS. III. The full ELQS quasar catalog
Short Name:
J/ApJ/871/258
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We have designed the Extremely Luminous Quasar Survey (ELQS) to provide a highly complete census of unobscured UV-bright quasars during the cosmic noon, z=2.8-5.0. Here we report the discovery of 70 new quasars in the ELQS South Galactic Cap (ELQS-S) quasar sample, doubling the number of known extremely luminous quasars in 4237.3deg^2^ of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint. These observations conclude the ELQS and we present the properties of the full ELQS quasar catalog, containing 407 quasars over 11838.5deg^2^. Our novel ELQS quasar selection strategy resulted in unprecedented completeness at the bright end and allowed us to discover 109 new quasars in total. This marks an increase of ~36% (109/298) in the known population at these redshifts and magnitudes, while we further are able to retain a selection efficiency of ~80%. On the basis of 166 quasars from the full ELQS quasar catalog, which adhere to the uniform criteria of the Two Micron All Sky Survey point source catalog, we measure the bright-end quasar luminosity function (QLF) and extend it one magnitude brighter than previous studies. Assuming a single power law with exponential density evolution for the functional form of the QLF, we retrieve the best-fit parameters from a maximum likelihood analysis. We find a steep bright-end slope of {beta}~-4.1, and we can constrain the bright-end slope to {beta}<=-3.4 with 99% confidence. The density is well modeled by the exponential redshift evolution, resulting in a moderate decrease with redshift ({gamma}~-0.4).
5. ESO Imaging Survey. IV.
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+AS/137/75
Title:
ESO Imaging Survey. IV.
Short Name:
J/A+AS/137/75
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
This paper presents preliminary lists of potentially interesting point-like sources extracted from multicolour data obtained for a 1.7 square degree region near the South Galactic Pole. The region has been covered by the ESO Imaging Survey (EIS) in B, V and I and offers a unique combination of area and depth. These lists, containing a total of 330 objects nearly all brighter than I~21.5, over 1. 27 square degrees (after removing some bad regions), are by-products of the process of verification and quality control of the object catalogs being produced. Among the colour selected targets are candidate very low mass stars/brown dwarfs (54), white-dwarfs (32), and quasars (244). In addition, a probable fast moving asteroid was identified. The objects presented here are natural candidates for follow-up spectroscopic observations and illustrate the usefulness of the EIS data for a broad range of science and for providing possible samples for the first year of the VLT.
6. FIR properties of SDSS 0.1<z<5 quasars
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/811/58
Title:
FIR properties of SDSS 0.1<z<5 quasars
Short Name:
J/ApJ/811/58
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
Using the public data from the Herschel wide-field surveys, we study the far-infrared properties of optical-selected quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Within the common area of ~172deg^2^, we have identified the far-infrared counterparts for 354 quasars, among which 134 are highly secure detections in the Herschel 250um band (signal-to-noise ratios >=5). This sample is the largest far-infrared quasar sample of its kind, and spans a wide redshift range of 0.14<=z<=4.7. Their far-infrared spectral energy distributions, which are due to the cold-dust components within the host galaxies, are consistent with being heated by active star formation. In most cases (>~80%), their total infrared luminosities as inferred from only their far-infrared emissions (L_IR_^(cd)^) already exceed 10^12^L_{sun}_, and thus these objects qualify as ultra-luminous infrared galaxies. There is no correlation between L_IR_^(cd)^ and the absolute magnitudes, the black hole masses or the X-ray luminosities of the quasars, which further support that their far-infrared emissions are not due to their active galactic nuclei. A large fraction of these objects (>~50%-60%) have star-formation rates >~300M_{sun}_/yr. Such extreme starbursts among optical quasars, however, is only a few percent. This fraction varies with redshift, and peaks at around z~2. Among the entire sample, 136 objects have secure estimates of their cold-dust temperatures (T), and we find that there is a dramatic increasing trend of T with increasing L_IR_^(cd)^. We interpret this trend as the envelope of the general distribution of infrared galaxies on the (T, L_IR_^(cd)^) plane.
7. FIRST-2MASS dust-reddened QSO spectra
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/757/51
Title:
FIRST-2MASS dust-reddened QSO spectra
Short Name:
J/ApJ/757/51
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present a sample of 120 dust-reddened quasars identified by matching radio sources detected at 1.4GHz in the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters survey (FIRST) with the near-infrared Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog (2MASS) and color-selecting red sources. Optical and/or near-infrared spectroscopy provide broad wavelength sampling of their spectral energy distributions that we use to determine their reddening, characterized by E(B-V). We demonstrate that the reddening in these quasars is best described by Small-Magellanic-Cloud-like dust. This sample spans a wide range in redshift and reddening (0.1<~z<~3, 0.1<~E(B-V)<~1.5), which we use to investigate the possible correlation of luminosity with reddening. At every redshift, dust-reddened quasars are intrinsically the most luminous quasars. We interpret this result in the context of merger-driven quasar/galaxy co-evolution where these reddened quasars are revealing an emergent phase during which the heavily obscured quasar is shedding its cocoon of dust prior to becoming a "normal" blue quasar. When correcting for extinction, we find that, depending on how the parent population is defined, these red quasars make up <~15%-20% of the luminous quasar population. We estimate, based on the fraction of objects in this phase, that its duration is 15%-20% as long as the unobscured, blue quasar phase.
8. Galaxy survey in 3 QSO fields
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/701/1219
Title:
Galaxy survey in 3 QSO fields
Short Name:
J/ApJ/701/1219
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present an imaging and spectroscopic survey of galaxies in fields around QSOs HE 0226-4110, PKS 0405-123, and PG 1216+069. The fields are selected to have ultraviolet echelle spectra available, which uncover 195 Ly{alpha} absorbers and 13 OVI absorbers along the three sightlines. We obtain robust redshifts for 1104 galaxies of rest-frame absolute magnitude M_R_-5logh<~-16 and at projected physical distances {rho}<~4h^-1^Mpc from the QSOs. Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFPC2 images of the fields around PKS 0405-123 and PG 1216+069 are available for studying the optical morphologies of absorbing galaxies. Combining the absorber and galaxy data, we perform a cross-correlation study to understand the physical origin of Ly{alpha} and OVI absorbers and to constrain the properties of extended gas around galaxies.
9. LAMOST. II. ugriz photometry of 526 new quasars
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/145/159
Title:
LAMOST. II. ugriz photometry of 526 new quasars
Short Name:
J/AJ/145/159
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
We present new quasars discovered in the vicinity of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies with the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, also named the Guoshoujing Telescope, during the 2010 and 2011 observational seasons. Quasar candidates are selected based on the available Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Kitt Peak National Observatory 4m telescope, Xuyi Schmidt Telescope Photometric Survey optical, and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer near-infrared photometric data. We present 509 new quasars discovered in a stripe of ~135deg^2^ from M31 to M33 along the Giant Stellar Stream in the 2011 pilot survey data sets, and also 17 new quasars discovered in an area of ~100 deg^2^ that covers the central region and the southeastern halo of M31 in the 2010 commissioning data sets. These 526 new quasars have i magnitudes ranging from 15.5 to 20.0, redshifts from 0.1 to 3.2. They represent a significant increase of the number of identified quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33. There are now 26, 62, and 139 known quasars in this region of the sky with i magnitudes brighter than 17.0, 17.5, and 18.0, respectively, of which 5, 20, and 75 are newly discovered. These bright quasars provide an invaluable collection with which to probe the kinematics and chemistry of the interstellar/intergalactic medium in the Local Group of galaxies. A total of 93 quasars are now known with locations within 2.5{deg} of M31, of which 73 are newly discovered. Tens of quasars are now known to be located behind the Giant Stellar Stream, and hundreds are behind the extended halo and its associated substructures of M31. The much enlarged sample of known quasars in the vicinity of M31 and M33 can potentially be utilized to construct a perfect astrometric reference frame to measure the minute proper motions (PMs) of M31 and M33, along with the PMs of substructures associated with the Local Group of galaxies. Those PMs are some of the most fundamental properties of the Local Group.
10. Large area KX quasar catalogue
ID:
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/MNRAS/424/2876
Title:
Large area KX quasar catalogue
Short Name:
J/MNRAS/424/2876
Date:
21 Oct 2021
Publisher:
CDS
Description:
The results of a large area, ~600deg^2^, K-band flux-limited spectroscopic survey for luminous quasars are presented. The survey utilizes the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) in regions of sky within the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) footprint. The K-band excess (KX) of all quasars with respect to Galactic stars is exploited in combination with a photometric redshift/classification scheme to identify quasar candidates for spectroscopic follow-up observations. The data contained within this investigation will be able to provide new constraints on the fraction of luminous quasars reddened by dust with E(B-V)<=0.5mag. The spectroscopic sample is defined using the K-band, 14.0<=K<=16.6, and SDSS i-band limits of i=19.5, 19.7 and 22.0 over sky areas of 287, 150 and 196deg^2^, respectively. The survey includes >3200 known quasars from the SDSS and more than 250 additional confirmed quasars from the KX selection. A well-defined subsample of quasars in the redshift interval 1.0<=z<=3.5 includes 1152 objects from the SDSS and 172 additional KX-selected quasars. The quasar selection is >95 per cent complete with respect to known SDSS quasars and >95 per cent efficient, largely independent of redshift and i-band magnitude. The properties of the new KX-selected quasars confirm the known redshift-dependent effectiveness of the SDSS quasar selection and provide a sample of luminous quasars experiencing intermediate levels of extinction by dust. The catalogue represents an important step towards the assembly of a well-defined sample of luminous quasars that may be used to investigate the properties of quasars experiencing intermediate levels of dust extinction within their host galaxies or due intervening absorption line systems.

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