Extragalactic abstracts - IRSA - California Institute of Technology

Spitzer_Approved_Extragalactic
Mar 25, 10 16:24 Page 439/742
Spitzer Space Telescope − General Observer Proposal #50656
Are FeLoBAL QSOs a ‘transition’ population between ULIRGs and classical QSOs?
Principal Investigator: Duncan Farrah
Institution: Cornell University
Technical Contact: Duncan Farrah, Cornell University
Co−Investigators:
Mark Lacy, Caltech
Robert Priddey, Hertfordshire
Colin Borys, Caltech
Jose Afonso, Lisbon Observatory
Science Category: AGN/quasars/radio galaxies
Observing Modes: MipsPhot
Hours Approved: 15.2
Abstract:
We propose to obtain MIPS photometry of 47 FeLoBAL QSOs. This class of QSO was,
until recently, thought to be extremely rare, but recent work has shown that
their strong reddening and heavy UV absorption systematically eliminates them
from traditional QSO surveys, and that they may in fact be common objects.
Furthermore, we recently observed a small sample of seven FeLoBAL QSOs with
MIPS, and found evidence that a far higher fraction of the FeLoBAL QSO
population may have FIR excesses, signifying active star formation, than the
general QSO population, meaning that FeLoBAL QSOs may be the long sought
population of ‘youthful’ QSOs that harbor both a rapidly accreting black hole
and very high rates of star formation. Our sample size was however too small to
demonstrate this reliably. Therefore, we here propose to observe a much larger
sample of confirmed FeLoBAL QSOs in all three MIPS channels. Our goal is to
determine the fraction of the FeLoBAL QSO population that contain heavily
obscured star formation, and so provide a direct and robust test of the
hypothesis that FeLoBAL QSOs are a ‘transition’ population between ULIRGs and
classical QSOs.
Spitzer_Approved_Extragalactic
Printed_by_SSC
Mar 25, 10 16:24 Page 440/742
Spitzer Space Telescope − Guaranteed Time Observer Proposal #111
Spitzer Spectroscopy of 8 micron bright, optically faint objects identified in
the IRAC Shallow Survey
Principal Investigator: Giovanni Fazio
Institution: Harvard−Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Technical Contact: Peter Eisenhardt, JPL
Science Category: AGN/quasars/radio galaxies
Observing Modes: IrsMap
Hours Approved: 4.2
Abstract:
This program will obtain IRS short wavelength low resolution first and second
order spectra of 5 objects identified in the IRAC Shallow Survey as having
extremely large 8 micron to I band flux ratios (of order 1,000 or more). Four
objects in the sample have 8um fluxes above 0.4mJy and I magnitudes fainter than
24, the fifth has an 8um flux of 0.35mJy and is not detected to I > 25. We hope
that from 5.3 − 14.5 um spectroscopy will determine whether these objects are
low redshift starburst galaxies, z ~ 1.5 ULIRGs, heavily reddened AGN, very high
redshift quasars, or some new phenomenon.
Thursday March 25, 2010 xgal_covers.txt
220/371