GMOS SV program 62

HST imaging has shown that QSO host galaxies come in a wide variety of forms from wildly distorted interacting systems, to seemingly placid normal Hubble types. We propose observing a small number of low z QSO host galaxies (z less than 1) with the GMOS IFU in order to study the gas dynamics in these systems. The goal is to understand better the triggering mechanism for QSOs. Are massive black holes present in most galaxies and only fed in those with QSOs, or are the feeding conditions for QSOs presnet in most galaxies, and the ones with QSOs the only ones with the necessary monster in the center? Imaging alone will never answer this question. IFU spatial coverage is a huge advantage, and the good spatial resoltion of the GMOS IFU combined with Gemini will allow us to look closer at the QSO than would otherwise be possible.

Information about the selected target PKS0743-006: This QSO is a target for the CIRPASS demo-science program. It has a Hokupa'a guide star, it is visible both in December and when the CIRPASS demo science is meant to happen, it has a redshift that puts Hbeta, [OIII] and Halpha at wavelengths where CIRPASS can cover it; and also [OII] where it can be done with the GMOS IFU and R400+i (z=0.99). Indeed, might give us a remote chance of seeing the CaII break if we bin up some allowing us to compare the emission line and stellar velocity fields. I note it was observed with Adonis + SHARP II (Hackenberg et al. 2000, A&A 363, 41), so there is already some continuum data. That paper gives some colours for the galaxies in the QSO host cluster by the way. To be worth doing we would need to spend a fair bit of time exposing. It is also something of a gamble, as it is always possible that this object has no extended [OII].