FUNA Lunch Talk:

Gregory R. Sivakoff

The Ohio State University

2MASS Reveals a Large Intrinsic Fraction of Luminous BALQSOs

May 18

12:10PM, Room 230, NRAO, Edgemont Road

Abstract:

The intrinsic fraction of broad absorption line quasars (BALQSOs) is important in constraining geometric and evolutionary models of quasars. Large numbers of BALQSOs have been identified by SDSS; however, the BALQSO features, in particular obscuration due to absorption troughs and dust extinction, can complicate performing a proper census of both BALQSOs and non-BALQSOs using photometric properties. By going to redder wavelengths, e.g., considering 2MASS detected quasars, these complications should be reduced. I present results that find 2MASS BALQSO fractions that are consistently higher than the SDSS fractions, with the BALQSO fractions steadily increasing with wavelength from the SDSS u to the 2MASS K_s bands. Using a simple simulation incorporating the luminosity function of quasars and the amount of obscuration for BALQSOs, the simultaneous fit of the BALQSO fractions in the SDSS and 2MASS bands suggest that the true BALQSO fraction is 43 \pm 2% for luminous quasars. This is a factor of 1.6 times that reported in the SDSS parent sample. I will discuss some implications of such a large fraction of luminous BALQSOs.