J/MNRAS/275/1102 J/MNRAS/275/1102 Evolution of quasar luminosity function M R S Hawkins P Veron Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 275 1102 1995 1995MNRAS.275.1102H J/MNRAS/260/202 : Quasar luminosity function (Hawkins+, 1993) Magnitudes QSOs Redshifts galaxies: luminosity function, mass function quasars: general In an earlier paper (Hawkins & Veron, 1993MNRAS.260..202H) we presented quasar luminosity functions in three redshift bins, derived from a variability selected sample. Here we provide a major extension to this survey, with a view to improving statistics and completeness, and extending the redshift range. The luminosity functions for redshifts of less than 2.2 show a featureless power law of the form {phi}=10^{beta}(M-M_0_)^, with no sign of a 'break'. The quasar luminosity function is also derived by the redshift range 2.2<z<3.2, which again shows a featureless power law, but with a steeper slope. When the data are combined with a new sample of bright quasars, the quasar luminosity functions in all four redshift ranges are consistent with a single power law of index {beta}=0.63. Plots of quasar space density as a function of redshift in three luminosity bins are also presented and show strong evolution at low redshift but nearly constant space density beyond a redshift of 2.

No Quasar number --- RAh Right ascension (1950) h RAm Right ascension (1950) min RAs Right ascension (1950) s DE- Declination sign --- DEd Declination (1950) deg DEm Declination (1950) arcmin DEs Declination (1950) arcsec Bmag B magnitude in 1977 mag U-B U-B color index mag s Variability parameter number=1 The variability parameter s measures the significance of variability and is typically 10 times the amplitude of variation. --- z Redshift --- BMag Absolute B magnitude in 1977 mag James Marcout, Patricia Bauer CDS 1997Feb18 UNKNOWN UNKNOWN Prepared via OCR at CDS. J_MNRAS_275_1102.xml