Oral Presentation

The Star Formation Efficiency of Quasar Host Galaxies at Low Redshifts

Author(s): Yanxia Xie (KIAA-PKU)

Presenter: Yanxia Xie (The Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Peking University)

The tight correlation between the mass of supermassive black hole and stellar velocity dispersion in galaxy bulge has been well-established in local quiescent galaxies, triggering enormous studies on the interaction of black holes and their host galaxies. Yet, the origin of this relation remains elusive. Rigorous measurement of interstellar medium content and star formation rate (SFR) in active galaxies will provide valuable information to gain insight into how effectively the host galaxies build their mass. Employing a new SFR calibrator developed by us based on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), we quantify the SFRs of the hosts and investigate the star formation efficiency in light of gas content measurements for a low-redshift quasar sample. The final results are discussed in the context of star formation quenching scenario from AGN feedback. We also explore the factors that affect the non-detection of PAHs in AGN host galaxies, aiming at investigating the robustness of PAHs as secure SFR tracer for active galaxies.