Kavli Affiliate: Michael D. Gladders
| First 5 Authors: Aidan P. Cloonan, Gourav Khullar, Kate A. Napier, Michael D. Gladders, Håkon Dahle
| Summary:
Wide-separation lensed quasars (WSLQs) are a rare class of strongly lensed
quasars, magnified by foreground massive galaxy clusters, with typically large
magnifications of the multiple quasar images. They are a relatively unexplored
opportunity for detailed study of quasar host galaxies. The current small
sample of known WSLQs has a median redshift of $zapprox 2.1$, larger than most
other samples of quasar host galaxies studied to date. Here, we derive precise
constraints on the properties of six WSLQs and their host galaxies, using
parametric surface brightness fitting, measurements of quasar emission lines,
and stellar population synthesis of host galaxies in six WSLQ systems. Our
results, with significant uncertainty, indicate that these six hosts are a
mixture of star-forming and quiescent galaxies. To probe for co-evolution
between AGNs and host galaxies, we model the offset from the `local’ ($z=0$)
$M_{rm{BH}}unicode{x2013}M_star$ relation as a simple power-law in redshift.
Accounting for selection effects, a WSLQ-based model for evolution in the
$M_{rm{BH}}unicode{x2013}M_star$ relation has a power-law index of
$gamma_M=-0.42pm0.31$, consistent with no evolution. Compared to several
literature samples, which mostly probe unlensed quasars at $z<2$, the WSLQ
sample shows less evolution from the local relation, at $sim 4sigma$. We find
that selection affects and choices of $M_{rm{BH}}$ calibration are the most
important systematics in these comparisons. Given that we resolve host galaxy
flux confidently even from the ground in some instances, our work demonstrates
that WSLQs and highly magnified AGNs are exceptional systems for future
AGN$unicode{x2013}$host co-evolution studies.
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