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Searching for mergers in early-type QSO host galaxies and a control sample of inactive ellipticals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2007

Nicola Bennert
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UC Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Gabriela Canalizo
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UC Riverside, CA 92521, USA
Bruno Jungwiert
Affiliation:
Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, UC Riverside, CA 92521, USA Astronomical Institute, Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 31 Prague 4, Czech Republic
Alan Stockton
Affiliation:
Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Dr., Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
François Schweizer
Affiliation:
Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
Chien Peng
Affiliation:
Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Mark Lacy
Affiliation:
Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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Abstract

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We present very deep HST/ACS images of five QSO host galaxies, classified as undisturbed ellipticals in earlier studies. For four of the five objects, our images reveal strong signs of interaction such as tidal tails, shells, and other fine structure, suggesting that a large fraction of QSO host galaxies may have experienced a relatively recent merger event. Our preliminary results for a control sample of inactive elliptical galaxies do not reveal comparable fine structure.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2008

References

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Canalizo, G., Bennert, N., Jungwiert, B., Stockton, A., Schweizer, F., Lacy, M., & Peng, C. 2007, ApJ, accepted (arXiv:0707.2951)Google Scholar
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