Quasar Luminosity Functions from Joint Evolution of Black Holes and Host Galaxies

Abstract

We show that our anti-hierarchical baryon collapse scenario (Granato et al. 2004) for the joint evolution of black holes and host galaxies predicts quasar luminosity functions at redshifts 1.5 < z < 6 and local demographic properties in nice agreement with observations. In our model the quasar activity marks and originates the transition between an earlier phase of violent and heavily dust-enshrouded starburst activity promoting rapid black hole growth, and a later phase of almost passive evolution; the former is traced by the submillimeter-selected sources, while the latter accounts for the high number density of massive galaxies at substantial redshifts z > 1.5, the population of Extremely Red Objects, and the properties of local ellipticals.