SIMBAD references

The star formation activity of the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei provides valuable insights into the complex interconnections between black hole growth and galaxy evolution. A major obstacle arises from the difficulty of estimating accurate star formation rates (SFRs) in the presence of a strong active galactic nucleus. Analyzing the 1-500 µm spectral energy distributions and high-resolution mid-infrared spectra of low-redshift (z < 0.5) Palomar-Green quasars with bolometric luminosity of ∼10^44.5-10^47.5 erg s^–1, we find, from comparison with an independent SFR indicator based on [Ne II] 12.81 µm and [Ne III] 15.56 µm, that the torus-subtracted, total infrared (8-1000 µm) emission yields robust SFRs in the range of ∼1-250 M_☉ yr^–1. Combined with available stellar mass estimates, the vast majority (∼75%-90%) of the quasars lie on or above the main sequence of local star-forming galaxies, including a significant fraction (∼50%-70%) that would qualify as starburst systems. This is further supported by the high star formation efficiencies derived from the gas content inferred from the dust masses. Inspection of high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope images reveals a wide diversity of morphological types, including a number of starbursting hosts that have not experienced significant recent dynamical perturbations. The origin of the high star formation efficiency is unknown.