Luminosity Function of Quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5 from SDSS and DESI
Abstract
We present a study of the evolution of type 1 quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5, covering the peak epoch of quasar activity. The quasar evolution has been extensively explored by a variety of previous works and the derived quasar luminosity functions (QLFs) are not very consistent with each other, presumably due to the complexities introduced by different quasar selection techniques and associated completeness corrections. We use a new strategy to construct QLFs based on a library of all known quasars. We focus on a wide region of ∼1700 deg2 and a deep field of ∼265 deg2 that have rich spectroscopic data primarily from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and DESI. We then apply traditional color cuts in the rest-frame UV-optical to select quasar candidates and use the quasar library to identify them. Our final sample consists of 62,426 quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5, with a high completeness (∼96%) and a high purity (∼93%) in the color selection. Simple color cuts can potentially minimize selection biases for the study of quasar evolution. We derive binned QLFs and characterize them using a double power-law model. Sample incompleteness and contamination are considered as part of the uncertainties in the calculation. Compared to previous results, our QLFs are slightly higher at the faint end, and also higher at the bright end at 2.5 < z < 3.5. The QLFs suggest that the quasar evolution at 1.0 < z < 2.5 can be well described by the pure luminosity evolution model, while at 2.5 < z < 3.5, it can be described by either the pure luminosity evolution or the pure density evolution model.
Related
- An ALMA Band 7 survey of SDSS/Herschel quasars in Stripe 82: II. The nature of FIR-bright quasars
- A Population of Little Red Dot-like Quasars in SDSS
- A Population of Little Red Dot-like Quasars in SDSS*
- Assembly bias from nuisance to probe II: Salvaging linear clustering from DESI and SDSS data
- Changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei from SDSS, LAMOST and DESI Surveys
BibTeX
@article{yin2026luminosity,
title = {{Luminosity Function of Quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5 from SDSS and DESI}},
author = {Gaocheng Yin and Linhua Jiang and Zhiwei Pan and Paul Martini and Wei-Jian Guo and Siwei Zou and Shengxiu Sun and Swayamtrupta Panda and Abhijeet Anand and Benjamin Alan Weaver and Aaron Meisner and Andrei Cuceu and Arjun Dey and Axel de la Macorra and Christophe Magneville and David Brooks and David Kirkby and David Schlegel and David Sprayberry and Davide Bianchi and Dick Joyce and Enrique Gaztañaga and Eusebio Sanchez and Francisco Javier Castander and Francisco Prada and Gaston Gutierrez and Graziano Rossi and Gregory Tarlé and Hiram K Herrera-Alcantar and Hu Zou and Ignasi Pérez-Ràfols and Jaime E Forero-Romero and Jessica Nicole Aguilar and John Moustakas and Joseph Harry Silber and Klaus Honscheid and Laurent Le Guillou and Marc Manera and Martin Landriau and Michael Schubnell and Mustapha Ishak and Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille and Peter Doel and Ramon Miquel and Robert Kehoe and Satya Gontcho A.Gontcho and Seshadri Nadathur and Simone Ferraro and Stephanie Juneau and Steven Ahlen and Theodore Kisner and Todd Claybaugh and Will Percival and Anthony Kremin and Claire Lamman and Claire Poppett and Rongpu Zhou},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae9302},
eprint = {2608.06000},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05733796v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Luminosity Function of Quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5 from SDSS and DESI
AU - Gaocheng Yin
AU - Linhua Jiang
AU - Zhiwei Pan
AU - Paul Martini
AU - Wei-Jian Guo
AU - Siwei Zou
AU - Shengxiu Sun
AU - Swayamtrupta Panda
AU - Abhijeet Anand
AU - Benjamin Alan Weaver
AU - Aaron Meisner
AU - Andrei Cuceu
AU - Arjun Dey
AU - Axel de la Macorra
AU - Christophe Magneville
AU - David Brooks
AU - David Kirkby
AU - David Schlegel
AU - David Sprayberry
AU - Davide Bianchi
AU - Dick Joyce
AU - Enrique Gaztañaga
AU - Eusebio Sanchez
AU - Francisco Javier Castander
AU - Francisco Prada
AU - Gaston Gutierrez
AU - Graziano Rossi
AU - Gregory Tarlé
AU - Hiram K Herrera-Alcantar
AU - Hu Zou
AU - Ignasi Pérez-Ràfols
AU - Jaime E Forero-Romero
AU - Jessica Nicole Aguilar
AU - John Moustakas
AU - Joseph Harry Silber
AU - Klaus Honscheid
AU - Laurent Le Guillou
AU - Marc Manera
AU - Martin Landriau
AU - Michael Schubnell
AU - Mustapha Ishak
AU - Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille
AU - Peter Doel
AU - Ramon Miquel
AU - Robert Kehoe
AU - Satya Gontcho A.Gontcho
AU - Seshadri Nadathur
AU - Simone Ferraro
AU - Stephanie Juneau
AU - Steven Ahlen
AU - Theodore Kisner
AU - Todd Claybaugh
AU - Will Percival
AU - Anthony Kremin
AU - Claire Lamman
AU - Claire Poppett
AU - Rongpu Zhou
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/01
JO - The Astrophysical Journal
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ae9302
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05733796v1
AB - We present a study of the evolution of type 1 quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5, covering the peak epoch of quasar activity. The quasar evolution has been extensively explored by a variety of previous works and the derived quasar luminosity functions (QLFs) are not very consistent with each other, presumably due to the complexities introduced by different quasar selection techniques and associated completeness corrections. We use a new strategy to construct QLFs based on a library of all known quasars. We focus on a wide region of ∼1700 deg^2 and a deep field of ∼265 deg^2 that have rich spectroscopic data primarily from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and DESI. We then apply traditional color cuts in the rest-frame UV-optical to select quasar candidates and use the quasar library to identify them. Our final sample consists of 62,426 quasars at 1.0 < z < 3.5, with a high completeness (∼96%) and a high purity (∼93%) in the color selection. Simple color cuts can potentially minimize selection biases for the study of quasar evolution. We derive binned QLFs and characterize them using a double power-law model. Sample incompleteness and contamination are considered as part of the uncertainties in the calculation. Compared to previous results, our QLFs are slightly higher at the faint end, and also higher at the bright end at 2.5 < z < 3.5. The QLFs suggest that the quasar evolution at 1.0 < z < 2.5 can be well described by the pure luminosity evolution model, while at 2.5 < z < 3.5, it can be described by either the pure luminosity evolution or the pure density evolution model.
SN - 0004-637X
SN - 1538-4357
ER -