Co-evolution of black hole growth and star formation from a cross-correlation analysis between quasars and the cosmic infrared background

• Published in: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 2015-06, Vol.449 (4), p.4476-4493
• Main Authors: Wang, Lingyu, Viero, Marco, Ross, Nicholas P., Asboth, Viktoria, Béthermin, Matthieu, Bock, Jamie, Clements, Dave, Conley, Alex, Cooray, Asantha, Farrah, Duncan, Hajian, Amir, Han, Jiaxin, Lagache, Guilaine, Marsden, Gaelen, Myers, Adam, Norberg, Peder, Oliver, Seb, Page, Mat, Symeonidis, Myrto, Schulz, Bernhard, Wang, Wenting, Zemcov, Mike
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; Black holes; Black holes (astronomy); Correlation; Correlation analysis; Emission; Galactic halos; Galaxies; Halos; Infrared; Luminosity; Quasars; Star & galaxy formation; Star formation
• ISSN: 0035-8711; 1365-2966
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stv559

We present the first cross-correlation measurement between Sloan Digital Sky Survey type 1 quasars and the cosmic infrared background (CIB) measured by Herschel. The quasars cover the redshift range 0.15 < z < 3.5 where most of the CIB originates. We detect the sub-millimetre emission of the quasars, which dominates on small scales, and correlated emission from dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) dominant on larger scales. The mean flux of the Data Release 7 (DR7) quasars (median redshift 〈z〉 = 1.4) is 11.1, 7.1 and 3.6 mJy at 250, 350 and 500 μm, respectively, while the mean flux of the DR9 quasars (〈z〉 = 2.5) is 5.7, 5.0 and 1.8 mJy at 250, 350 and 500 μm, respectively. Assuming a modified blackbody spectral energy distribution with a power law in the mid-infrared, we infer that the mean infrared luminosity of the DR7 and DR9 quasars is 1012.4 and 1012.8 L⊙, respectively. The correlated emission arises from DSFGs in the same halo as the quasar (the one-halo term) and DSFGs in separate haloes correlated with the quasar-hosting halo (the two-halo term). Using a simple halo model, we find that most quasars are hosted by central galaxies. The host halo mass scale of the DR7 central and satellite quasars is 1012.4 ± 0.9 and 1013.6 ± 0.4 M⊙, respectively. The host halo mass scale of the DR9 central and satellite quasars is 1012.3 ± 0.6 and 1012.8 ± 0.4 M⊙, respectively. Thus, the halo environment of the central quasars is similar to that of the most actively star-forming galaxies, which supports the view that dusty starburst and quasar activity are evolutionarily linked.