Red Quasars and Quasar Evolution: the Case of BALQSO FIRST J155633.8+351758

Abstract

We present the first near-IR spectroscopy of the z=1.5 radio-loud BALQSO FIRST J155633.8+351758. Both the Balmer decrement and the slope of the rest-frame UV-optical continuum independently suggest a modest amount of extinction along the line of sight to the BLR (E(B-V)~0.5 for SMC-type screen extinction at the QSO redshift). The implied gas column density along the line of sight is much less than is implied by the weak X-ray flux of the object, suggesting that either the BLR and BAL region have a low dust-to-gas ratio, or that the rest-frame optical light encounters significantly lower mean column density lines of sight than the X-ray emission. From the rest-frame UV-optical spectrum, we are able to constrain the stellar mass content of the system. Comparing the maximal stellar mass with the black hole mass estimated from the bolometric luminosity of the QSO, we find that the ratio of the black hole to stellar mass may be comparable to the Magorrian value, which would imply that the Magorrian relation is already in place at z=1.5. However, multiple factors favor a much larger black hole to stellar mass ratio. This would imply that if the Magorrian relation characterizes the late history of QSOs, and the situation observed for F1556+3517 is typical of the early evolutionary history of QSOs, central black hole masses develop more rapidly than bulge masses. [ABRIDGED]

23 pages, 4 embedded postscript figures; Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, December 2000

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