[23.02] The faint end of the QSO luminosity function at z=3

AAS 203rd Meeting, January 2004
Session 23 Quasars, Blazars and Jets
Oral, Monday, January 5, 2004, 10:00-11:30am, Centennial I/II

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[23.02] The faint end of the QSO luminosity function at z=3

M.P. Hunt, C.C. Steidel (California Institute of Technology), K.L. Adelberger (Carnegie Observatories), A.E. Shapley (University of California, Berkeley)

We present the first measurement of the faint end of the QSO luminosity function at z=3. The QSOs range from M₁₄₅₀=-21 to M₁₄₅₀=-27 and were selected in rest-frame UV using the Lyman break technique. All are spectroscopically confirmed. We find that the faint-end slope, \beta_l=1.26 is significantly flatter than in the local universe (\beta_l=1.64). Comparisons with other work at z ~3 are presented. We discuss implications for the total UV luminosity and its effect on the IGM, as well as implications for the growth history of supermassive black holes. We also discuss the spectral properties of QSOs and narrow-lined AGN discovered in the Lyman break galaxy survey.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: mph@astro.caltech.edu

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