Abstract.
We observed a sample of high redshift quasars ( \(z\simeq 3.4, z\simeq 4.5\)) in the near-infrared to measure the relative iron and Mg II emission strengths and thereby date the first star formation epoch. A detailed comparison with quasars at low-redshift show essentially the same Fe II/Mg II emission ratios and very similar continuum and line spectral properties, suggesting a lack of evolution of the relative iron to magnesium abundance of the gas since \(z\simeq 4.5\) in bright quasars. These results are consistent with major star formation activity in the host galaxies beginning at an epoch corresponding to \(z_f \simeq 10\), when the age of the universe was less than 0.5 Gyrs (H o = 72 km s-1 Mpc \(^{-1}, \Omega_M = 0.3, \Omega_\Lambda = 0.7\)).
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Dietrich, M., Hamann, F., Appenzeller, I., Vestergaard, M., Wagner, S. Quasar Evolution and Star Formation History. In: Gilfanov, M., Sunyeav, R., Churazov, E. (eds) Lighthouses of the Universe: The Most Luminous Celestial Objects and Their Use for Cosmology. ESO ASTROPHYSICS SYMPOSIA. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10856495_51
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10856495_51
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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