Evolution of the X-ray Emission of Radio-Quiet Quasars

dc.creatorKelly, Brandon C.
dc.creatorBechtold, Jill
dc.creatorSiemiginowska, Aneta
dc.creatorAldcroft, Tom
dc.creatorSobolewska, Malgorzata
dc.date2006-11-03
dc.date.accessioned2026-07-07T10:24:08Z
dc.date.available2026-07-07T10:24:08Z
dc.descriptionWe report new Chandra observations of seven optically faint, z \sim 4 radio-quiet quasars. We have combined these new observations with previous Chandra observations of radio-quiet quasars to create a sample of 174 sources. These sources have 0.1 < z < 4.7, and 10^{44} ergs s^{-1} < nu L_{nu} (2500 Å) < 10^{48} ergs s^{-1}. The X-ray detection fraction is 90%. We find that the X-ray loudness of radio-quiet quasars decreases with UV luminosity and increases with redshift. The model that is best supported by the data has a linear dependence of optical-to-X-ray ratio, alpha_{ox}, on cosmic time, and a quadratic dependence of alpha_{ox} on log L_{UV}, where alpha_{ox} becomes X-ray quiet more rapidly at higher log L_{UV}. We find no significant evidence for a relationship between the X-ray photon index, Gamma_X, and the UV luminosity, and we find marginally significant evidence that the X-ray continuum flattens with increasing z (2 sigma). The Gamma_X-z anti-correlation may be the result of X-ray spectral curvature, redshifting of a Compton reflection component into the observed Chandra band, and/or redshifting of a soft excess out of the observed Chandra band. Using the results for Gamma_X, we show that the alpha_{ox}-z relationship is unlikely to be a spurious result caused by redshifting of the observable X-ray spectral region. A correlation between alpha_{ox} and z implies evolution of the accretion process. We present a qualitative comparison of these new results with models for accretion disk emission.
dc.descriptionAccepted by ApJ, 48 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables
dc.identifierhttps://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611120
dc.identifierhttp://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0611120
dc.identifierAstrophys.J.657:116-134,2007
dc.identifierdoi:10.1086/510876
dc.identifier.urihttp://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/176083
dc.subjectAstrophysics
dc.titleEvolution of the X-ray Emission of Radio-Quiet Quasars
dc.typetext

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