The far-infrared properties of broad absorption line quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Abstract

We present the results of a study which uses a sample of 320 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars with 1.68≤z≤2.28 inside the Herschel Stripe 82 Survey (HerS) region to compare the mid-infrared (MIR) and far-infrared (FIR) properties of broad absorption line (BAL) and non-BAL quasars. The BAL quasar sample comprises 56 high-ionization BAL (HiBAL) quasars and two low-ionization BAL (LoBAL) quasars. The BAL and non-BAL samples have similar intrinsic absolute i magnitude. When combined with Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) MIR photometry, the BAL quasars are found to have MIR luminosities and MIR-to-optical luminosity ratios consistent with those of the non-BALs, in good agreement with the results of Gallagher et al. The FIR detection rates of BAL and non-BAL quasars are found to be consistent with each other. The BAL quasars are found to have FIR fluxes indistinguishable from that of non-BAL quasars using survival analysis methods. No evidence is found for a correlation between FIR flux and BAL strength, consistent with the recent results of Cao Orjales et al. The FIR properties of this sample appear to be at odds with the evolutionary model in which BALs are an early phase in the lives of quasars.