English

Tracing Star Formation in Quasar Hosts via [O II] $\lambda$3727: A Kinematically Consistent Approach

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2026-04-15 v1

Abstract

Measuring star formation in quasar host galaxies is crucial for understanding the coevolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and galaxies, yet remains observationally challenging due to severe contamination from active galactic nucleus (AGN) emission. In this work, we present a new method to robustly isolate the AGN contribution to the [O II] λ\lambda3727 emission line in quasars, based on a kinematically consistent decomposition of [O II] and the high-ionization [Ne V] λ\lambda3426 line. We find that the [O II] emission in quasars is primarily dominated by star formation, with only a weak AGN contribution, and thus can be reliably used as a tracer of star formation in quasar hosts. Applying this technique to a large sample of Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars, we derive mean SFRs as a function of bolometric luminosity. We find a tight correlation between mean SFR and luminosity. Further analysis, assuming a constant dust extinction correction to [O II] emission, shows that luminosity is the primary parameter most strongly associated with star formation, rather than SMBH mass or Eddington ratio. This supports the scheme in which star formation and black hole accretion are closely linked through their common dependence on the cold gas supply.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.21509,
  title  = {Tracing Star Formation in Quasar Hosts via [O II] $\lambda$3727: A Kinematically Consistent Approach},
  author = {Liang Wu and Jun-Xian Wang and Luis C. Ho and Junfeng Wang and Zhicheng He},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.21509},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJL

R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:32:37.700Z