| Description |
Quasar feedback has become a major ingredient in galaxy formation models, invoked to explain the absence of overly massive galaxies, the hot intracluster medium and the black hole / host galaxy correlations. Using ground-based spectroscopic observations, we have discovered high-velocity ionized gas outflows from luminous obscured quasars, which could be the long-sought smoking-gun signature of quasar feedback. We propose deep photometric observations with Herschel to determine the far-infrared spectral energy distribution of these objects. We will use these data to confirm that the observed outflows are driven by the supermassive black hole activity rather than by star formation in the host galaxy. Furthermore, we will quantify the relation between the kinetic energy of the outflow and the radiative power of the quasar. Herschel observations are the only avenue to establish the driving mechanism and energetics of quasar feedback. |
| Keywords |
Herschel Space Observatory data, ESA Herschel mission dataset, far-infrared astronomy observations, submillimeter astronomy data, infrared space telescope observations, PACS photometer data, PACS spectrometer data, SPIRE photometer data, SPIRE Fourier transform spectrometer data, HIFI heterodyne spectroscopy data, far-infrared spectroscopy dataset, submillimeter spectral line observations, cold universe observations dataset, star formation infrared data, molecular cloud far-infrared observations, interstellar medium spectroscopy data, protoplanetary disk infrared observations, galaxy evolution far-infrared data, dust emission submillimeter observations, cosmic infrared background measurements, extragalactic infrared survey data, calibrated level 2 data products, FITS files astronomy, spectral cubes far-infrared, flux-calibrated maps, continuum photometry data, spectral energy distribution measurements, ESA Herschel Science Archive data |
