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We study the differences in physical properties of quasar-host galaxies using an optically selected sample of radio loud (RL) and radio quiet (RQ) quasars (in the redshift range 0.15 < z < 1.9) which we have further cross-matched with the VLA-FIRST survey catalog. The sources in our sample have broad Hbeta and MgII emission lines (1000 km/s < FWHM < 15000 km/s) with a subsample of high broad line quasars (FWHM > 15000 km/s). We construct the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) of our broad line quasars using multi-wavelength archival data and targeted observations with the AstroSat telescope. We use the state-of-the-art SED modeling code CIGALE v2022.0 to model the SEDs and determine the best-fit physical parameters of the quasar host galaxies namely their star-formation rate (SFR), main-sequence stellar mass, luminosity absorbed by dust, e-folding time and stellar population age. We find that the emission from the host galaxy of our sources is between 20%-35% of the total luminosity, as they are mostly dominated by the central quasars. Using the best-fit estimates, we reconstruct the optical spectra of our quasars which show remarkable agreement in reproducing the observed SDSS spectra of the same sources. We plot the main-sequence relation for our quasars and note that they are significantly away from the main sequence of star-forming galaxies. Further, the main sequence relation shows a bimodality for our RL quasars indicating populations segregated by Eddington ratios. We conclude that RL quasars in our sample with lower Eddington ratios tend to have substantially lower star-formation rates for similar stellar mass. Our analyses, thus, provide a completely independent route in studying the host galaxies of quasars and addressing the radio dichotomy problem from the host galaxy perspective., Comment: Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics journal

The thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect serves as a direct potential probe of the energetic outflows from quasars that are responsible for heating the intergalactic medium. In this work, we use the GIZMO meshless finite mass hydrodynamic cosmological simulation SIMBA (Dave et al. 2019), which includes different prescriptions for quasar feedback, to compute the SZ effect arising from different feedback modes. From these theoretical simulations, we perform mock observations of the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in four bands (320 GHz, 135 GHZ, 100 GHz and 42 GHz) to characterize the feasibility of direct detection of the quasar SZ signal. Our results show that for all the systems we get an enhancement of the SZ signal, when there is radiative feedback, while the signal gets suppressed when the jet mode of feedback is introduced in the simulations. Our mock ALMA maps reveal that, with the current prescription of jet feedback, the signal goes below the detection threshold of ALMA. We also find that the signal is higher for high redshift systems, making it possible for ALMA and cross SZ-X-ray studies to disentangle the varying modes of quasar feedback and their relative importance in the cosmological context., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

The impact of feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on the cosmological evolution of the large scale structure is a long studied problem. However, it is still not well understood how the feedback energy couples to the ambient medium to influence the properties of AGN host galaxies and dark matter halos. In this work we investigate different modes of AGN feedback and their effect on the surrounding medium by probing the diffuse X-ray emission from the hot gas inside galaxy groups and clusters. For this purpose, we use the cosmological hydrodynamic simulation SIMBA to theoretically calculate the X-ray emission from simulated galaxy clusters/groups with the help of the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC). We also perform synthetic observations of these systems with the Chandra X-ray telescope using the ray-tracing simulator Model of AXAF Response to X-rays (MARX). Our results show that in addition to the radiative wind mode of feedback from the AGN, jet and X-ray mode of feedback play significant roles in suppressing the X-ray emission from the diffuse gas in the vicinity of the black hole. Our mock observational maps suggest that the signatures of AGN feedback from the high redshift objects may not be detected with the instrumental resolution of current X-ray telescopes like Chandra, but provide promising prospect for detection of these features with potential X-ray missions such as Lynx., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

We perform an analysis of the properties of radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) quasars with MgII broad emission line (i-band magnitude $\leq 19.1$ and z $\leq 1.9$), selected from the parent sample of SDSS DR7 catalogue. For sources with full-width half maxima (FWHM) greater than \mbox{15,000 km s$^{-1}$} (very broad line sample; VBL) we find the radio loud fraction (RLF) to be about 40\%. To further investigate this result we compare the bolometric luminosity, optical continuum luminosity, black hole (BH) mass and Eddington ratios of our VBL sample of RL and RQ quasars. Our analysis shows that in our VBL sample space, RL quasars have higher luminosities and BH mass than RQ quasars. The similarity in the distribution of their covering fraction (CF) shows that there is no difference in dust distribution between VBL RL and RQ quasars and hence dust is not affecting our results. We also find that there is no correlation of RL quasar properties with optical continuum luminosity and BH mass., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to the Special Issue "A New Window on the Radio Emission from Galaxies, Galaxy Clusters and Cosmic Web: Current Status and Perspectives" of MDPI Galaxies

The abundance, distribution and inner structure of satellites of galaxy clusters can be sensitive probes of the properties of dark matter. We run 30 cosmological zoom-in simulations with self-interacting dark matter (SIDM), with a velocity-dependent cross-section, to study the properties of subhalos within cluster-mass hosts. We find that the abundance of subhalos that survive in the SIDM simulations are suppressed relative to their cold dark matter (CDM) counterparts. Once the population of disrupted subhalos -- which may host orphan galaxies -- are taken into account, satellite galaxy populations in CDM and SIDM models can be reconciled. However, even in this case, the inner structure of subhalos are significantly different in the two dark matter models. We study the feasibility of using the weak lensing signal from the subhalo density profiles to distinguish between the cold and self-interacting dark matter while accounting for the potential contribution of orphan galaxies. We find that the effects of self-interactions on the density profile of subhalos can appear degenerate with subhalo disruption in CDM, when orphans are accounted for. With current error bars from the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam Strategic Program, we find that subhalos in the outskirts of clusters (where disruption is less prevalent) can be used to constrain dark matter physics. In the future, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time will give precise measurements of the weak lensing profile and can be used to constrain $\sigma_T/m$ at the $\sim 1$ cm$^2$ g$^{-1}$ level at $v\sim 2000$ km s$^{-1}$., Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, to be submitted to ApJ

To investigate the effect of feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) on their surrounding medium, we study the diffuse X-ray emission from galaxy groups and clusters by coupling the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC) with the cosmological hydrodynamic simulation involving AGN feedback. We construct a statistical sample of synthetic Chandra X-ray photon maps to observationally characterize the effect of AGN on the ambient medium. We show that AGN are effective in displacing the hot X-ray emitting gas from the centers of groups and clusters, and that these signatures remain evident in observations of the X-ray surface brightness profiles., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomische Nachrichten, proceedings of the 9th International Workshop on Astronomy and Relativistic Astrophysics

In this study we quantify the properties of the gas and dark matter around active galactic nuclei (AGN) in simulated galaxy groups and clusters and analyze the effect of AGN feedback on the surrounding intra-cluster (group) medium. Our results suggest downsizing of AGN luminosity with host halo mass, supporting the results obtained from clustering studies of AGN. By examining the temperature and density distribution of the gas in the vicinity of AGN we show that due to feedback from the central engine, the gas gets displaced from the centre of the group/cluster resulting in a reduction of the density but an enhancement of temperature. We show that these effects are pronounced at both high and low redshifts and propose new observables to study the effect of feedback in higher redshift galaxies. We also show that the average stellar mass is decreased in halos in the presence of AGN feedback confirming claims from previous studies. Our work for the first time uses a fully cosmological-hydrodynamic simulation to evaluate the global effects of AGN feedback on their host dark matter halos as well as galaxies at scales of galaxy groups and clusters., Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication at Astrophysical Journal

Massive galaxies at high-z are known to co-evolve with their circumgalactic medium (CGM). If we want to truly understand the role of the CGM in the early evolution of galaxies and galaxy-clusters, we need to fully explore the multi-phase nature of the CGM. We present two novel science cases that utilize low-surface-brightness observations in the radio regime to better understand the CGM around distant galaxies. At the lowest temperatures, observations of widespread molecular gas are providing evidence for the cold baryon cycle that grows massive galaxies. At the highest temperatures, observations of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect are starting to reveal the effect of quasar feedback onto the hot gas in the CGM. We discuss the critical role that radio interferometers with compact configurations in the millimeter regime will play over the next decade in understanding the crucial role of the multi-phase CGM in galaxy evolution., Comment: Science White paper submitted to Astro2020 Decadal Survey

We use data from the All Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey to construct stacked X-ray maps of optically bright active galaxies (AGN) and an associated control sample of galaxies at high redshift (z less than 0.6). From our analysis of the surface brightness profiles obtained from these X-ray maps, we find evidence of feedback from the active nuclei. We find that excluding galaxies and AGN, residing in group environments, from our samples enhances the significance of our detection. Our results support the tentative findings of Chatterjee et al. who use X-ray selected AGN for their analysis. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of quantifying AGN feedback and show that the current method can be used to extract X-ray source population in high redshift galaxies., Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 872, Number 1, Page- 35

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE) can be used to detect the hot bubbles in the intergalactic medium blown by energetic winds from AGN and starbursts. By directly constraining the kinetic luminosity, age and total energy of the outflow, it offers the promise of greatly increasing our understanding of the effects of wind feedback on galaxy evolution. Detecting the SZE in these winds is very challenging, at the edge of what is possible using existing facilities. The scale of the signal (10-100 kpc) is, however, well matched to interferometers operating at mm wavelengths for objects at z~1. Thus this could become a major science area for the ngVLA, especially if the design of the core is optimized for sensitivity on angular scales of >1 arcsec in the 90 GHz band., Comment: To be published in the ASP Monograph Series, Science with a Next-Generation VLA, ed. E. J. Murphy (ASP, San Francisco, CA)

The nature and energetics of feedback from thermal winds in quasars can be constrained via observations of the Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect (SZE) induced by the bubble of thermal plasma blown into the intergalactic medium by the quasar wind. In this letter, we present evidence that we have made the first detection of such a bubble, associated with the hyperluminous quasar HE0515-4414. The SZE detection is corroborated by the presence of extended emission line gas at the same position angle as the wind. Our detection appears on only one side of the quasar, consistent with the SZE signal arising from a combination of thermal and kinetic contributions. Estimates of the energy in the wind allow us to constrain the wind luminosity to the lower end of theoretical predictions, ~0.01% of the bolometric luminosity of the quasar. However, the age we estimate for the bubble, ~0.1 Gyr, and the long cooling time, ~0.6 Gyr, means that such bubbles may be effective at providing feedback between bursts of quasar activity., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We model the projected angular two-point correlation function (2PCF) of obscured and unobscured quasars selected using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), at a median redshift of $z \sim 1$ using a five-parameter Halo Occupation Distribution (HOD) parameterization, derived from a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation by Chatterjee et al. The HOD parameterization was previously used to model the 2PCF of optically selected quasars and X-ray bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) at $z \sim 1$. The current work shows that a single HOD parameterization can be used to model the population of different kinds of AGN in dark matter halos suggesting the universality of the relationship between AGN and their host dark matter halos. Our results show that the median halo mass of central quasar hosts increases from optically selected ($4.1^{+0.3}_{-0.4} \times 10^{12} \; h^{-1} \; {M_{sun}}$) and infra-red (IR) bright unobscured populations ($6.3^{+6.2}_{-2.3} \times 10^{12} \; h^{-1} \; {M_{sun}}$) to obscured quasars ($10.0^{+2.6}_{-3.7} \times 10^{12} \; h^{-1} \; {M_{sun}}$), signifying an increase in the degree of clustering. The projected satellite fractions also increase from optically bright to obscured quasars and tend to disfavor a simple `orientation only' theory of active galactic nuclei unification. Our results also show that future measurements of the small-scale clustering of obscured quasars can constrain current theories of galaxy evolution where quasars evolve from an IR- bright obscured phase to the optically bright unobscured phase., Comment: Accepted 2018 February 9. Received 2018 January 20; in original form 2017 June 24

We characterise the distribution of quasars within dark matter halos using a direct measurement technique for the first time at redshifts as high as $z \sim 1$. Using the Planck Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) catalogue for galaxy groups and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR12 quasar dataset, we assign host clusters/groups to the quasars and make a measurement of the mean number of quasars within dark matter halos as a function of halo mass. We find that a simple power-law fit of $\log\left = (2.11 \pm 0.01) \log (M) -(32.77 \pm 0.11)$ can be used to model the quasar fraction in dark matter halos. This suggests that the quasar fraction increases monotonically as a function of halo mass even to redshifts as high as $z\sim 1$., Comment: Accepted for publication in PASP

Several analytic and numerical studies have indicated that the interstellar medium of a quasar host galaxy heated by feedback can contribute to a substantial secondary signal in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) through the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. Recently, many groups have tried to detect this signal by cross-correlating CMB maps with quasar catalogs. Using a self-similar model for the gas in the intra-cluster medium and a realistic halo occupation distribution (HOD) prescription for quasars we estimate the level of SZ signal from gravitational heating of quasar hosts. The bias in the host halo signal estimation due to unconstrained high mass HOD tail and yet unknown redshift dependence of the quasar HOD restricts us from drawing any robust conclusions at low redshift (z<1.5) from our analysis. However, at higher redshifts (z>2.5), we find an excess signal in recent observations than what is predicted from our model. The excess signal could be potentially generated from additional heating due to quasar feedback., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Using data from the DEEP2 galaxy redshift survey and the All Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey we obtain stacked X-ray maps of galaxies at 0.7 < z < 1.0 as a function of stellar mass. We compute the total X-ray counts of these galaxies and show that in the soft band (0.5--2,kev) there exists a significant correlation between galaxy X-ray counts and stellar mass at these redshifts. The best-fit relation between X-ray counts and stellar mass can be characterized by a power law with a slope of 0.58 +/- 0.1. We do not find any correlation between stellar mass and X-ray luminosities in the hard (2--7,kev) and ultra-hard (4--7,kev) bands. The derived hardness ratios of our galaxies suggest that the X-ray emission is degenerate between two spectral models, namely point-like power-law emission and extended plasma emission in the interstellar medium. This is similar to what has been observed in low redshift galaxies. Using a simple spectral model where half of the emission comes from power-law sources and the other half from the extended hot halo we derive the X-ray luminosities of our galaxies. The soft X-ray luminosities of our galaxies lie in the range 10^39-8x10^40, ergs/s. Dividing our galaxy sample by the criteria U-B > 1, we find no evidence that our results for X-ray scaling relations depend on optical color., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures (Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal)

Using data from the All Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) we statistically detect the extended X-ray emission in the interstellar medium (ISM)/intra-cluster medium (ICM) in both active and normal galaxies at 0.3 <= z <= 1.3. For both active galactic nuclei (AGN) host galaxy and normal galaxy samples that are matched in restframe color, luminosity, and redshift distribution, we tentatively detect excess X-ray emission at scales of 1--10 arcsec at a few sigma significance in the surface brightness profiles. The exact significance of this detection is sensitive to the true characterization of Chandra's point spread function. The observed excess in the surface brightness profiles is suggestive of lower extended emission in AGN hosts compared to normal galaxies. This is qualitatively similar to theoretical predictions of the X-ray surface brightness profile from AGN feedback models, where feedback from AGN is likely to evacuate the gas from the center of the galaxy/cluster. We propose that AGN that are intrinsically under-luminous in X-rays, but have equivalent bolometric luminosities to our sources will be the ideal sample to study more robustly the effect of AGN feedback on diffuse ISM/ICM gas., Comment: Accepted in PASP

Recent work on quasar clustering suggests a degeneracy in the halo occupation distribution constrained from two-point correlation functions. To break this degeneracy, we make the first empirical measurement of the mean occupation function (MOF) of quasars at $z \sim 0.2$ by matching quasar positions with groups and clusters identified in the MaxBCG sample. We fit two models to the MOF, a power law and a 4-parameter model. The number distribution of quasars in host halos is close to Poisson, and the slopes of the MOF obtained from our best-fit models (for the power law case) favor a MOF that monotonically increases with halo mass. The best-fit slopes are $0.53 \pm 0.04$ and $1.03\pm 1.12$ for the power law model and the 4-parameter model, respectively. We measure the radial distribution of quasars within dark matter halos and find it to be adequately described by a power law with a slope $-2.3 \pm 0.4$. We measure the conditional luminosity function (CLF) of quasars and show that there is no evidence that quasar luminosity depends on host halo mass, similar to the inferences drawn from clustering measurements. We also measure the conditional black hole mass function (CMF) of our quasars. Although the results are consistent with no dependence on halo mass, we observe a slight indication of downsizing of the black hole mass function. The lack of halo mass dependence in the CLF and CMF shows that quasars residing in galaxy clusters have characteristic luminosity and black hole mass scales., Comment: Matches the ApJ accepted version (11 pages, 8 figures)

We perform halo occupation distribution (HOD) modeling of the projected two-point correlation function (2PCF) of high-redshift (z~1.2) X-ray-bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the XMM-COSMOS field measured by Allevato et al. The HOD parameterization is based on low-luminosity AGN in cosmological simulations. At the median redshift of z~1.2, we derive a median mass of (1.02+0.21/-0.23)x10^{13} Msun/h for halos hosting central AGN and an upper limit of ~10% on the AGN satellite fraction. Our modeling results indicate (at the 2.5-sigma level) that X-ray AGN reside in more massive halos compared to more bolometrically luminous, optically-selected quasars at similar redshift. The modeling also yields constraints on the duty cycle of the X-ray AGN, and we find that at z~1.2 the average duration of the X-ray AGN phase is two orders of magnitude longer than that of the quasar phase. Our inferred mean occupation function of X-ray AGN is similar to recent empirical measurements with a group catalog and suggests that AGN halo occupancy increases with increasing halo mass. We project the XMM-COSMOS 2PCF measurements to forecast the required survey parameters needed in future AGN clustering studies to enable higher precision HOD constraints and determinations of key physical parameters like the satellite fraction and duty cycle. We find that N^{2}/A~5x10^{6} deg^{-2} (with N the number of AGN in a survey area of A deg^{2}) is sufficient to constrain the HOD parameters at the 10% level, which is easily achievable by upcoming and proposed X-ray surveys., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted in ApJ

We present an estimate of the projected two-point correlation function (2PCF) of quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) over the full range of one- and two-halo scales, 0.02-120 Mpc/h. This was achieved by combining data from SDSS DR7 on large scales and Hennawi et al. (2006; with appropriate statistical corrections) on small scales. Our combined clustering sample is the largest spectroscopic quasar clustering sample to date, containing ~48,000 quasars in the redshift range 0.4

Using a fully cosmological hydrodynamic simulation that self-consistently incorporates the growth and feedback of supermassive black holes and the physics of galaxy formation, we examine the effects of environmental factors (e.g., local gas density, black hole feedback) on the halo occupation distribution of low luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN). We decompose the mean occupation function into central and satellite contribution and compute the conditional luminosity functions (CLF). The CLF of the central AGN follows a log-normal distribution with the mean increasing and scatter decreasing with increasing redshifts. We analyze the light curves of individual AGN and show that the peak luminosity of the AGN has a tighter correlation with halo mass compared to instantaneous luminosity. We also compute the CLF of satellite AGN at a given central AGN luminosity. We do not see any significant correlation between the number of satellites with the luminosity of the central AGN at a fixed halo mass. We also show that for a sample of AGN with luminosity above 10^42 ergs/s the mean occupation function can be modeled as a softened step function for central AGN and a power law for the satellite population. The radial distribution of AGN inside halos follows a power law at all redshifts with a mean index of -2.33 +/- 0.08. Incorporating the environmental dependence of supermassive black hole accretion and feedback, our formalism provides a theoretical tool for interpreting current and future measurements of AGN clustering., Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, 2 Tables (Matches the MNRAS accepted version)

We investigate the halo occupation distribution (HOD) of black holes within a hydrodynamic cosmological simulation that directly follows black hole growth. Similar to the HOD of galaxies/subhalos, we find that the black hole occupation number can be described by the form N_BH proportional to 1+ (M_Host)^alpha where alpha evolves mildly with redshift indicating that a given mass halo (M_Host) at low redshift tends to host fewer BHs than at high redshift (as expected as a result of galaxy and BH mergers). We further divide the occupation number into contributions from black holes residing in central and satellite galaxies within a halo. The distribution of M_BH within halos tends to consist of a single massive BH (distributed about a peak mass strongly correlated with M_Host), and a collection of relatively low-mass secondary BHs, with weaker correlation with M_Host. We also examine the spatial distribution of BHs within their host halos, and find they typically follow a power-law radial distribution (i.e. much more centrally concentrated than the subhalo distribution). Finally, we characterize the host mass for which BH growth is feedback dominated (e.g. star formation quenched). We show that halos with M_Host > 3 * 10^12 M_sun have primary BHs that are feedback dominated by z~3 with lower mass halos becoming increasingly more affected at lower redshift., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We perform a cross-correlation analysis of microwave data from Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe and photometric quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, testing for Sunyaev-Zeldovich (SZ) effect from quasars. A statistically significant (2.5 $\sigma$) temperature decrement exists in the 41 GHz microwave band. A two-component fit to the cross-correlation spectrum incorporating both dust emission and SZ yields a best-fit $y$ parameter of $(7.0 \pm 3.4)\times 10^{-7}$. A similar cross-correlation analysis with the Luminous Red Galaxy sample from Sloan gives a best-fit $y$ parameter of $(5.3 \pm 2.5)\times 10^{-7}$. We discuss the possible physical origin of these signals, which is likely a combination of SZ effects from quasars and from galaxy clusters. Both the Planck Surveyor satellite and current ground-based arcminute-resolution microwave experiments will detect this signal with a higher statistical significance., Comment: 7 pages 3 figures (Accepted for publication in ApJ)

How did the universe evolve? The fine angular scale (l>1000) temperature and polarization anisotropies in the CMB are a Rosetta stone for understanding the evolution of the universe. Through detailed measurements one may address everything from the physics of the birth of the universe to the history of star formation and the process by which galaxies formed. One may in addition track the evolution of the dark energy and discover the net neutrino mass. We are at the dawn of a new era in which hundreds of square degrees of sky can be mapped with arcminute resolution and sensitivities measured in microKelvin. Acquiring these data requires the use of special purpose telescopes such as the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT), located in Chile, and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). These new telescopes are outfitted with a new generation of custom mm-wave kilo-pixel arrays. Additional instruments are in the planning stages., Comment: Science White Paper submitted to the US Astro2010 Decadal Survey. Full list of 177 author available at http://cmbpol.uchicago.edu

Quasar feedback has most likely a substantial but only partially understood impact on the formation of structure in the universe. A potential direct probe of this feedback mechanism is the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect: energy emitted from quasar heats the surrounding intergalactic medium and induce a distortion in the microwave background radiation passing through the region. Here we examine the formation of such hot quasar bubbles using a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation which includes a self-consistent treatment of black hole growth and associated feedback, along with radiative gas cooling and star formation. From this simulation, we construct microwave maps of the resulting Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect around black holes with a range of masses and redshifts. The size of the temperature distortion scales approximately with black hole mass and accretion rate, with a typical amplitude up to a few micro-Kelvin on angular scales around 10 arcseconds. We discuss prospects for the direct detection of this signal with current and future single-dish and interferometric observations, including ALMA and CCAT. These measurements will be challenging, but will allow us to characterize the evolution and growth of supermassive black holes and the role of their energy feedback on galaxy formation., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables (Accepted for publication in MNRAS on July 30th 2008)

The observed relationship between X-ray luminosity and temperature of the diffuse intercluster medium clearly shows the effect of nongravitational heating on the formation of galaxy clusters. Quasar feedback into the intergalactic medium can potentially be an important source of heating, and can have significant impact on structure formation. This feedback process is a source of thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich distortions of the cosmic microwave background. Using a simple one-dimensional Sedov-Taylor model of energy outflow, we calculate the angular power spectrum of the temperature distortion, which has an amplitude on the order of one micro-Kelvin. This signal will be at the noise limit of upcoming arcminute-scale microwave background experiments, including the Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the South Pole Telescope, but will be directly detectable with deep exposures by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array or by stacking many microwave images., Comment: The discussion of detectability is expanded. Matches the ApJ Letters accepted version