{"id":81545,"date":"2025-08-19T15:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81545\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T15:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:58:06","slug":"astronomers-discover-dozens-of-new-luminous-quasars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81545\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronomers discover dozens of new luminous quasars"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Astronomers<\/p>\n

Cutout images of 18 newly discovered quasars that lie within the SDSS footprint but are not included in the SDSS DR16Q catalog. Credit: arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550\/arxiv.2508.06028<\/p>\n

Astronomers from Seoul National University, South Korea and elsewhere report the detection of 62 new luminous quasars as part of the All-sky BRIght, Complete Quasar Survey (AllBRICQS). The discovery was detailed in a research paper published<\/a> August 8 on the arXiv preprint server.<\/p>\n

Quasars, or quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), are active galactic nuclei<\/a> (AGN) in the centers of active galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes<\/a> (SMBHs). They showcase very high bolometric luminosities (over one quattuordecillion erg\/s), emitting electromagnetic radiation observable in radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths.<\/p>\n

The AllBRICQS survey aims to identify previously undetected optically bright quasars<\/a>. It finds quasar candidates more effectively than previous methods by utilizing data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) catalog and precise parallax and proper motion measurements from Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3).<\/p>\n

To date, 156 spectroscopically confirmed quasars have been identified as part of the AllBRICQS project, and now a team of astronomers<\/a>, led by Seoul National University’s Yunyi Choi, has announced new quasar discoveries.<\/p>\n

“Here, we report 62 new AllBRICQS quasars spanning various types, which include typical broad emission line quasars and the most luminous iron low-ionization broad absorption line quasars discovered to date,” the researchers wrote in the paper.<\/p>\n

First of all, Choi’s team identified 75 quasar candidates in the northern hemisphere. Afterward, they confirmed the quasar status of 62 sources through spectroscopic observations using three ground-based telescopes<\/a> in South Korea and China.<\/p>\n

The newfound quasars have redshifts between 0.09 and 2.48, while their bolometric luminosities are within the range of 1\u20131,000 quattuordecillion erg\/s. Therefore, the quasars reported in the paper are mostly bright with regard to the general QSO population.<\/p>\n

One of the quasars detected by the new study, namely J0919+3557, was classified by recent observations as a galaxy at a redshift of 0.18. However, Choi’s team has refined its redshift to 2.36 and reclassified it as a weak-line quasar\u2014a subclass of quasars characterized by unusually weak high-ionization lines.<\/p>\n

The astronomers underlined that among their discoveries are rare and notable objects, including an iron low-ionization broad absorption line quasar (FeLoBAL). The new FeLoBAL, which received the designation J1356+3840, turns out to be the most luminous quasar of this type to date.<\/p>\n

Summing up the results, the authors of the paper noted that their sample of new quasars will serve as a valuable resource for studies of quasar physics, black hole growth, feedback processes, and host galaxy properties.<\/p>\n

“These confirmed AllBRICQS quasars provide a valuable resource for future research into quasar evolution, black holes, their environments, and their host galaxies across multiple wavelengths,” the scientists concluded.<\/p>\n

\n Written for you by our author Tomasz Nowakowski<\/a>, edited by Stephanie Baum<\/a>, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan<\/a>\u2014this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive.
\n If this reporting matters to you,
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\n You’ll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.\n <\/p>\n

More information:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYunyi Choi et al, AllBRICQS: The Discovery of Luminous Quasars in the Northern Hemisphere, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550\/arxiv.2508.06028<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJournal information:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tarXiv<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u00a9 2025 Science X Network\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAstronomers discover dozens of new luminous quasars (2025, August 19)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 19 August 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-08-astronomers-dozens-luminous-quasars.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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