The Clustering of High Redshift Quasars on Large and Small Scales

本研究将利用斯隆数字巡天的高质量光度和光谱数据，研究活动星系核在中高红移时的成团现象。这种高度偏向的群体的聚集性衡量了其宿主暗物质晕的典型质量。这将导致对红移超过3的类星体作为其光度和黑洞质量的函数的大规模聚集的第一次确定测量。对高红移的近距离类星体对的调查应该会确定这些天体是否形成了稀有的高密度峰，而定向深成像将测试这种稀有峰的频率，以及预测的主星系团的存在。此外，这项研究将首次确定高亮度下遮挡类星体的比例，并确定高亮度天体的普查是否接近完成。这项研究支持一名全日制研究生，延续了本科生和研究生培训的强劲记录。作为一个长期运行的天体物理学定量入门课程的一部分，这个项目的主要研究员一直在分发描述该领域最新令人兴奋的发展的文章。这将继续下去，从局内人的角度描述科学是如何完成的，以及天文学家如何使用数据和定量推理来得出他们的结论。这些文章将通过一个正在开发的网站得到更广泛的使用，利用公众对这个快速发展的领域所感受到的自然的兴奋和好奇心。

AST-0707266StraussThis research will use the superb photometric and spectroscopic data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to study the clustering of Active Galactic Nuclei at intermediate and high redshifts. The clustering of such highly biased populations measures the typical mass of their host dark matter halos. This will result in the first definitive measurement of the large-scale clustering of quasars at redshifts beyond three, as a function of their luminosity and black hole mass. A survey of close quasar pairs at high redshift should determine whether these objects form in rare, high-density peaks, while targeted deep imaging will test for the frequency of such rare peaks, as well as for the existence of the predicted host clusters of galaxies. In addition, this study will make the first determination of the fraction of obscured quasars at high luminosities, and determine whether the census of high luminosity objects is close to complete.The research supports a full-time graduate student, continuing a strong record of undergraduate and graduate training. As part of a long-running quantitative introductory course in astrophysics, the principal investigator for this project has been distributing essays describing recent exciting developments in the field. This will continue, describing from an insider's perspective how science is done, and how astronomers use data and quantitative reasoning to reach their conclusions. These essays will become more widely available through a web site under development, taking advantage of the natural excitement and curiosity that the public feels for this fast-moving field.