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Session 26 - Russell Prize Lecture.
Invited session, Monday, January 13
Frontenac Ballroom,
The IRAS survey has shown that the spectral energy distribution of quasars exhibits a relative maximum in the mid- and far-infrared wavelengths. The infrared bump is present at about the same level in both radio quiet and radio loud quasars. The generally accepted explanation is that the infrared emission is dominated by thermal emission from dust grains within a few parsecs of a central non thermal source. The results of an observational test of this explanation in the near- and mid-infrared wavelengths will be described.
In the near-infrared, the emission from quasars is sometimes significantly contaminated by galaxy light from the host galaxies surrounding the quasar. Infrared observations which emphasize these hosts will also be shown and the possible relationship between AGNs and the ultraluminous galaxies will be discussed.
