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R. J. Brunner, A. Bender (University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana)
We report preliminary results from an ongoing project to understand the interplay between local environment and quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). Many models exist which account for various observed qualities of QSOs, but little is known about the relationship between QSOs, their host galaxy, and their local environment. We use data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR1 to identify possible statistical excesses (both positive and negative) in the local density of galaxies surrounding each QSO. In order to explore the quasar-environment interaction, we quantify the relationships between the environment and the intrinsic properties of the QSOs. From these results we hope to learn more about the fueling processes of the supermassive black holes that are believed to lie at the center of QSOs.
We would like to thank the NASA AISR Program for funding in part this work through grant NAG 5-12580.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.