We investigated the star formation history and stellar populations of a sample of 205 Type I quasar host galaxies (0.1 < z < 0.35) and compared them with normal (nonactive) galaxies of the same mass and redshift within the volume of the Galaxy and Mass Assembly redshift survey. We find that quasar host galaxies tend to be star-forming galaxies (∼80%) lying on the star-forming main sequence; the fraction of quasar host galaxies that are quiescent (∼20%) is lower than the fraction of quiescent galaxies in the comparison sample of normal galaxies (54%). We find that the mean star formation rate (SFR) of quasar host galaxies has increased over the past 100 Myr by a factor of 2–3, but these galaxies were star-forming at all times previously. Our data are more consistent with quasar activity originating together with an increase in the SFR of otherwise normal galaxies, similar to episodic star formation in normal spirals. We argue that this indicates that secular processes and minor mergers may be the favored triggers of nuclear activity in the local Universe.

High-resolution ( [10 - 35 pc]) e-MERLIN (lambda 6 - 18 cm) and ( [6.5 pc]) ALMA (lambda 1.1 mm) observations have been used to image OH (hydroxyl) and H2CO (formaldehyde) megamaser emission, and HCN 3 -> 2 emission toward the nuclear (< 100 pc) region of the luminous infrared galaxy Zw049.057. Zw049.057 hosts a compact obscured nucleus (CON), and thus represents a class of galaxies that are often associated with inflow and outflow motions. Formaldehyde megamaser emission has been detected toward the nuclear region, less than or similar to 30 pc (), and traces a structure along the disk major axis. OH megamaser (OHM) emission has been detected along the minor axis of the disk, similar to 30 pc () from the nucleus, where it exhibits a velocity gradient with extrema of -20 km s(-1) southeast (SE) of the disk and -110 km s(-1) northwest (NW) of the disk. HCN 3 -> 2 emission reveals extended emission, along the disk minor axis out to similar to 60 pc (). Analysis of the minor axis HCN emission reveals high-velocity features extending out to 600 km s(-1), redshifted on the SE side and blueshifted on the NW side. We propose that the high-velocity HCN emission traces a fast (> 250 km s(-1)) and collimated outflow that is enveloped by a wide-angle and slow (similar to 50 km s(-1)) outflow that is traced by the OHM emission. Analysis of the outflow kinematics suggests that the slow wide-angle outflow will not reach escape velocity and will instead fall back to the galaxy disk, evolving as a so-called fountain flow, while the fast collimated outflow traced by HCN emission will likely escape the nuclear region. We suggest that the absence of OHM emission in the nuclear region is due to high densities there. Even though OHMs associated with outflows are an exception to conventional OHM emission, we expect them to be common in CON sources that host both OHM and H2CO megamasers.

We present a deep X-Shooter rest-frame UV to optical spectral analysis of the heavily reddened quasar, ULASJ2315+043 at z = 2.566, known to reside in a major-merger host galaxy. The rest-frame optical is best-fit by a dust-reddened quasar E(B-V)(QSO) = 1.55 with black-hole mass log(10)(H beta, MBH[M-circle dot]) = 10.26 +/- 0.05, bolometric luminosity L-Bol = 10(48.16) erg s(-1) and Eddington-scaled accretion rate log(10)(lambda(Edd)) = -0.19. We find remarkable similarities between ULASJ2315+043 and the high-redshift Little Red Dots (LRDs). The rest-frame UV cannot be explained by a dusty quasar component alone and requires an additional blue component consistent with either a star-forming host galaxy or scattered AGN light. We detect broad high-ionisation emission lines in the rest-UV, supporting the scattered light interpretation for the UV excess. The scattering fraction represents just 0.05% of the total luminosity of ULASJ2315+043. Analysis of the mid infra-red SED suggests an absence of hot dust on torus-scales similar to what is observed for LRDs. The obscuring medium is therefore likely on galaxy scales. We detect narrow, blueshifted associated absorption line systems in C IV, N V, Si IV and Si III. There is evidence for significant high-velocity (>1000 km s(-1)) outflows in both the broad and narrow line regions as traced by C IV and [O III] emission. The kinetic power of the [OIII] wind is (epsilon)over dot(k)(ion) = 10(44.61) erg s(-1) similar to 0.001 L-Bol. ULASJ2315+043 is likely in an important transition phase where star formation, black-hole accretion and multi-phase gas flows are simultaneously occurring

Abstract One of the most fundamental questions in galaxy evolution is how galaxies regulate nuclear growth and accretion onto supermassive black holes. One potential way to do this is through a galactic wind which removes gas from the nucleus. It is unclear whether galactic winds are powered by jets, mechanical winds, radiation, or via magnetohydrodynamic processes. Compact obscured nuclei (CONs) represent a significant phase of galactic nuclear growth. These galaxies hide growing supermassive black holes or unusual starbursts in their very opaque, extremely compact (r < 100 pc) centres. They are found in approximately 30% of the luminous and ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG and ULIRG) population. Here, we present high resolution ALMA observations (~30mas, ~5pc) of ground-state and vibrationally excited HCN towards ESO 320-G030 (IRAS 11506−3851). ESO 320-G030 is an isolated luminous infrared galaxy known to host a compact obscured nucleus and a kiloparsec-scale molecular wind. Our analysis of these high-resolution observations excludes the possibility of a starburst driven wind, a mechanically or energy driven AGN wind, and exposes a molecular magnetohydrodynamic wind. If magnetohydrodynamic winds are intrinsic to CONs, these results imply that nuclear evolution of galaxies and growth of SMBHs is similar to the growth of hot cores or protostars, and that star formation or active galactic nuclei feedback may not be necessary to drive galactic winds.

We explore the properties of galaxies in the proximity (within a ∼2 Mpc radius sphere) of Type I quasars at 0.1 < z <0.35, to check whether and how an active galaxy influences the properties of its neighbors. We further compare these with the properties of neighbors around inactive galaxies of the same mass and redshift within the same volume of space, using the Galaxy and Mass Assembly spectroscopic survey. Our observations reveal no significant difference in properties such as the number of neighbors, morphologies, stellar mass, star formation rates, and star formation history between the neighbors of quasars and those of the comparison sample. This implies that quasar activity in a host galaxy does not significantly affect its neighbors (e.g., via interactions with the jets). Our results suggest that quasar host galaxies do not strongly differ from the average galaxy within the specified mass and redshift range. Additionally, the implication of the relatively minor importance of the environmental effect on and from quasars is that nuclear activity is more likely triggered by internal and secular processes.

We here present 0.02-0.04” resolution ALMA observation of the compact obscured nucleus (CON) of IRAS17578-0400. A dusty torus within the nucleus, approximately 4 pc in radius, has been uncovered, exhibiting a usually flat spectral index at ALMA band 3, likely due to the millimeter corona emission from the central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The dense gas disk, traced by ^13CO(1-0), spans 7 pc in radius and suggests an outflow driven by a disk wind due to its asymmetrical structure along the minor axis. Collimated molecular outflows (CMO), traced by the low-velocity components of the HCN(3-2) and HCO^+(3-2) lines, align with the minor axis gas disk. Examination of position-velocity plots of HCN(3-2) and HCO^+(3-2) reveals a flared dense gas disk extended a radius of ∼ 60 pc, infalling and rotating at speeds of about 200 km/s and 300 km/s, respectively. A centrifugal barrier, located around 4 pc from the dynamical center, implies an SMBH mass of approximately 10^8 M_⊙, consistent with millimeter corona emission estimates. The CMO maintains a steady rotation speed of 200 km/s over the 100 pc scale along the minor axis. The projected speed of the CMO is about 80 km/s, corresponding to around ∼ 500 km/s, assuming an inclination angle of 80^∘. Such a kinematics structure of disk-driven collimated rotating molecular outflow with gas supplies from a falling rotating disk indicates that the feedback of the compact obscured nucleus is likely regulated by the momentum transfer of the molecular gas that connects to both the feeding of the nuclear starburst and supermassive black hole.

Understanding the connection between nuclear activity and galaxy environment remains critical in constraining models of galaxy evolution. By exploiting extensive catalogued data from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey, we identify a representative sample of 205 quasars at 0.1 < z < 0.35 and establish a comparison sample of galaxies, closely matched to the quasar sample in terms of both stellar mass and redshift. On scales <1 Mpc, the galaxy number counts and group membership of quasars appear entirely consistent with those of the matched galaxy sample. Despite this, we find that quasars are 1.5 times more likely to be classified as the group center, indicating a potential link between quasar activity and cold gas flows or galaxy interactions associated with rich group environments. On scales of a few Mpc, the clustering strength of both samples are statistically consistent and beyond 10 Mpc we find no evidence that quasars trace large scale structures any more than the galaxy control sample. Both populations are found to prefer intermediate-density sheets and filaments to either very high- or very low- density environments. This weak dependence of quasar activity on galaxy environment supports a paradigm in which quasars represent a phase in the lifetime of all massive galaxies and in which secular processes and a group-centric location are the dominant trigger of quasars at low redshift.

AbstractHigh resolution (0."26 × 0."13 (70 × 35 pc)) L-band (18 cm) OH megamaser (OHM) e-Merlin observations of the LIRG Zw049.057 show that the emission is emerging from a low velocity outflowing structure - which is foreground to a fast, dense and collimated molecular outflow detected by ALMA. The extremely dusty compact obscured nucleus (CON) of Zw049.057 has no (or only little) OHM emission associated with it - possibly because of too high number densities that quench the OHM. In contrast we detect 6 cm H2CO emission primarily from the CON-region. We suggest that the OHM-region of Zw049.057 is not directly associated with star formation, but instead occurs in a wide-angle, slow outflow that surrounds the fast and dense outflow. The OHM is pumped by IR emission that likely stems from activities in the nucleus. We briefly discuss how OHM emission can be used as a probe of LIRG-CON galaxies.

Low-ionisation broad absorption line quasars (LoBALs) mark an important, yet poorly understood, population of quasars showing direct evidence for energetic mass outflows. We outline a sample of 12 luminous (L$_{\rm{bol}}$ $>$10$^{46}$ergs$^{-1}$) LoBALs at 2.0$<$z$<$2.5 - a key epoch in both star formation and black hole accretion, which have been imaged as part of a targeted program with the \textit{Herschel} Spectral and Photometric Imaging REceiver (SPIRE). We present K-band NOTCam spectra for three of these targets, calculating their spectroscopic redshifts, black hole masses and bolometric luminosities, and increasing the total number of LoBAL targets in our sample with spectral information from five to eight. Based on FIR obeservations from \textit{Herschel} SPIRE, we derive prolific SFRs ranging 740 - 2380M$_{\rm{\odot}}$yr$^{-1}$ for the detected targets, consistent with LoBALs existing in an evolutionary phase associated with starburst activity. Furthermore, an upper limit of $<$440M$_{\rm{\odot}}$yr$^{-1}$ is derived for the non-detections, meaning moderate-to-high SFRs cannot be ruled out, even among the undetected targets. Indeed, we detect an enhancement in both the SFRs and FIR fluxes of LoBALs compared to HiBAL and non-BAL quasars, further supporting the evolutionary LoBAL paradigm. Despite this enhancement in SFR however, the environments of LoBALs appear entirely consistent with the general galaxy population at 2.0$<$z$<$2.5.

ABSTRACT We present new 850 μm SCUBA-2 observations for a sample of 19 heavily reddened Type-I quasars at redshifts z ∼ 2 with dust extinctions of AV ≃ 2–6 mag. Three of the 19 quasars are detected at >3σ significance corresponding to an 850 μm flux-limit of ≳4.8 mJy. Assuming the 850 μm flux is dominated by dust heating due to star formation, very high star formation rates (SFR) of ∼2500–4500 M⊙ yr−1 in the quasar host galaxies are inferred. Even when considering a large contribution to the 850 μm flux from dust heated by the quasar itself, significant SFRs of ∼600–1500 M⊙ yr−1 are nevertheless inferred for two of the three detected quasars. We stack the remaining 16 heavily reddened quasars and derive an average 3σ upper limit on the SFRs in these quasar host galaxies of <880 M⊙ yr−1. The number counts of sub-mm galaxies in the total survey area (134.3 arcmin2) are consistent with predictions from blank-field surveys. There are, however, individual quasars where we find evidence for an excess of associated sub-mm galaxies. For two quasars, higher spatial resolution and spectroscopic ALMA observations confirm the presence of an excess of sub-mm sources. We compare the 850 μm detection rate of our quasars to both unobscured, ultraviolet luminous quasars as well as the much more obscured population of mid-infrared luminous Hot Dust Obscured Galaxies (HotDOGs). When matched by luminosity and redshift, we find no significant differences in the 850 μm flux densities of these various quasar populations given the current small sample sizes.

Abstract The role of quasar feedback in galaxy evolution remains poorly understood. Throughout this work, we explore the effects of negative feedback on star formation in quasar host galaxies, analysing two distinct populations of quasars. The first is a sample of high-redshift (z > 2) low-ionisation broad absorption line quasars (LoBALs) - a class of quasars hosting energetic mass outflows, in which we find evidence for prolific star formation (>750Mʘyr–1) exceeding that of non-BAL quasars at the same redshift. The second is a population of 207 low-redshift (z < 0.3) quasars, in which we find an enhancement in the SFRs of quasar hosts compared to the underlying galaxy population, with no quasars residing in quiescent hosts over the last 2Gyr. Overall, we find no evidence for galaxy-wide quenching in either population, rather we suggest that the dominant effect of quasar activity is to enhance star formation in the galaxy.

Abstract Broad absorption line quasars (BALs) represent an interesting yet poorly understood population of quasars showing direct evidence for feedback processes via powerful outflows. Whilst an orientation model appears sufficient in explaining the sub-population of high-ionisation BALs (HiBALs), low-ionisation BALs (LoBALs) may instead represent an evolutionary phase, in which LoBALs exist in a short-lived phase following a merger-driven starburst. Throughout this work, we test this evolutionary picture of LoBALs by comparing the FIR detection rates, SFRs and environments for a sample of 12 LoBALs to other quasar populations at 2.0 < z < 2.5, making use of archival Herschel SPIRE data. We find the LoBAL detection rate to exceed that of both HiBALs and non-BALs, indicating a potential enhancement in their SFRs. Indeed, we also find direct evidence for high SFRs (>750 Mȯyr−1) within our sample which may be consistent with an evolutionary paradigm.

Quasars are thought to govern many fundamental processes within galaxies, from quenching star formation to shaping the galaxy itself. In an evolutionary picture of quasars, the most luminous systems (L bol~ 10 47 erg) are thought to evolve from merger-driven starbursts, appearing heavily obscured during their transition to UV-luminous quasars as dust from the decaying starburst is being cleared out of the galaxy. Understanding the connection between dust obscuration, black hole accretion and star formation in luminous quasars undergoing this transition is therefore an important test of such evolutionary models. Host galaxy studies of the most massive and luminous quasars at z> 1.5 remain challenging, particularly in the rest-frame UV where a quasar will typically outshine its host galaxy by several orders of magnitude. I will present the first rest-frame UV study for a population of obscured type-1 quasars at z~ 2 …

We perform the first population study of luminous, but heavily-reddened quasars in the rest-frame UV at z= 1.5-2.7-a peak epoch of both star formation and black hole accretion. We find resolved, blue emission in the DES imaging, consistent with a star forming host galaxy. Via SED fitting, we derive instantaneous SFRs for the sample and find a trend between quasar luminosity and SFR.