The Quasar Mass-Luminosity Plane II: High Mass Turnoff Evolution and a Synchronization Puzzle

TL;DR

This study analyzes a large quasar sample to reveal that high-mass black holes stop accreting earlier in cosmic history and that quasar turnoff is more synchronized than galaxy dynamics alone would suggest.

Contribution

It provides new evidence on the evolution and synchronization of quasar turnoff across different masses and redshifts, challenging existing models.

Findings

High-mass quasars cease luminous activity at higher redshifts.

Quasar turnoff is more synchronized than host galaxy dynamics predict.

Decreased high-mass, low-Eddington ratio quasars at low redshift.

Abstract

We use 62,185 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5 sample and standard virial mass scaling laws based on the widths of H beta, Mg II, and C IV lines and adjacent continuum luminosities to explore the maximum mass of quasars as a function of redshift, which we find to be sharp and evolving. This evolution is in the sense that high-mass black holes cease their luminous accretion at higher redshift than lower-mass black holes. Further, turnoff for quasars at any given mass is more highly synchronized than would be expected given the dynamics of their host galaxies. We investigate potential signatures of the quasar turnoff mechanism, including a dearth of high-mass quasars at low Eddington ratio. These new results allow a closer examination of several common assumptions used in modeling quasar accretion and turnoff.