2002/11/29 by R. S. Priddey, Robert S. Priddey, K. G. Isaak +5 · 6 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Active galactic nucleus #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Flux (metallurgy) #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #James Clerk Maxwell Telescope #Luminosity #Luminous infrared galaxy #Physics #Quasar #Redshift #Star formation #Telescope #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06279.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.339:1183,2003 · 7 pages, 5 figures. MNRAS, in press
arxiv created 2002/11/29 · openalex publication_date 2003/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present results of the first systematic search for submillimetre (submm) continuum emission from z∼ 2, radio-quiet, optically-luminous (MB < −27.5) quasars, using the SCUBA array camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT). We have observed a homogeneous sample of 57 quasars in the redshift range 1.5 < z < 3.0— the epoch during which the comoving density of luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) peaks — to make a systematic comparison with an equivalent sample at high redshift (z > 4; Paper I). The target sensitivity of the survey, 3σ = 10 mJy at 850 μm, was chosen to enable efficient identification of bright submm sources, suitable for detailed follow-up. Nine targets are detected with 3σ significance or greater, with fluxes in the range 7–17 mJy. Although the detection rate above 10 mJy is lower than that of the z > 4 survey, the weighted mean flux of the undetected sources, 1.9 ± 0.4 mJy, is similar to that at z > 4 (2.0 ± 0.6 mJy). The statistical significance of trends is analysed, and it is found that: (i) within the limited optical luminosity range studied, there is no strong evidence for a correlation between submm and optical luminosity; (ii) there is a suggestion of a variation of submm detectability with redshift, but that this is consistent with the K-correction of a characteristic far-infrared spectrum.