Distances of Quasars and Quasar‐like Galaxies: Further Evidence That Quasi‐stellar Objects May Be Ejected from Active Galaxies

Abstract

If high-redshift quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are ejected from the nuclei of low-redshift galaxies, as some have claimed, a large portion of their redshift must be intrinsic (non-Doppler). If these intrinsic components have preferred values, redshifts will tend to cluster around these preferred values and produce peaks in the redshift distribution. Doppler ejection and Hubble flow components will broaden each peak. Because ejection velocities are randomly directed and Hubble flow components are always positive, in this model all peaks are expected to show an asymmetry, extending farther out in the red wing. If peaks are present showing this predicted asymmetry, it can lead directly to an estimate of quasar distances. Using two quasar samples, one with high redshifts and one with low, it is shown here that not only do all peaks in these two redshift distributions occur at previously predicted preferred values, but also they all show the predicted extra extension in the red wing. For the low- and high-redshift samples the mean cosmological components are found to be zc ~ 0.024 and ~0.066, respectively. The difference can be explained by the improved detection limit of the high-redshift sample. These results offer further evidence in favor of the model proposing that QSOs are ejected from active galaxies.