Do quasar X-ray and UV flux measurements provide a useful test of cosmological models?

TL;DR

This paper investigates whether quasar X-ray and UV flux measurements can reliably test cosmological models, revealing that the largest sub-sample's flux relations depend on the assumed cosmology and redshift, limiting their utility.

Contribution

It demonstrates that the SDSS-4XMM quasar sub-sample's flux relations depend on cosmology and redshift, affecting their use in constraining cosmological models.

Findings

SDSS-4XMM QSOs show flux relations dependent on cosmology and redshift.

SDSS-Chandra and XXL QSOs are standardizable but provide weak constraints.

Results are consistent with the standard $\ ext{Lambda}$CDM model.

Abstract

The recent compilation of quasar (QSO) X-ray and UV flux measurements include QSOs that appear to not be standardizable via the X-ray luminosity and UV luminosity ($L_X-L_{UV}$) relation and so should not be used to constrain cosmological model parameters. Here we show that the largest of seven sub-samples in this compilation, the SDSS-4XMM QSOs that contribute about 2/3 of the total QSOs, have $L_X-L_{UV}$ relations that depend on the cosmological model assumed and also on redshift, and is the main cause of the similar problem discovered earlier for the full QSO compilation. The second and third biggest sub-samples, the SDSS-Chandra and XXL QSOs that together contribute about 30% of the total QSOs, appear standardizable, but provide only weak constraints on cosmological parameters that are not inconsistent with the standard spatially-flat $\Lambda$CDM model or with constraints from better-established cosmological probes.