Abstract
Abstract Recent observations have found that many z ∼ 6 quasar fields lack galaxies. This unexpected lack of galaxies may potentially be explained by quasar radiation feedback. In this paper, I present a suite of 3D radiative transfer cosmological simulations of quasar fields. I find that quasar radiation suppresses star formation in low-mass galaxies, mainly by photodissociating their molecular hydrogen. Photo-heating also plays a role, but only after ∼100 Myr. However, galaxies that already have stellar mass above 105 M ⊙ when the quasar turns on will not be suppressed significantly. Quasar radiative feedback suppresses the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function (LF) within 1 pMpc, but to a far lesser degree than the field-to-field variation of the LF. My study also suggests that by using the number of bright galaxies ( < −16) around quasars, we can potentially recover the underlying mass overdensity, which allows us to put reliable constraints on quasar environments.
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