Testing the Evolutionary Link between Type 1 and Type 2 Quasars with Measurements of the Interstellar Medium
In a popular scenario for the coevolution of massive black holes and galaxies, major mergers of gas-rich galaxies fuel vigorous star formation and obscured (type 2) quasar activity until energy feedback from the active galactic nucleus clears away the gas and dust to reveal an unobscured (type 1) quasar. Under this scenario, the precursor type 2 quasars should be more gas-rich than their type 1 counterparts, and both types of quasars are expected to be gas-deficient relative to normal, star-forming galaxies of similar stellar mass. We test this evolutionary hypothesis by investigating the infrared (~ 1-500 micron) spectral energy distribution of 86 optically selected z < 0.5 type 2 quasars, matched in redshift and [O III] luminosity to a comparison sample of type 1 quasars. Contrary to expectations, the gas content of the host galaxies of type 2 quasars is nearly indistinguishable from that of type 1 quasar hosts, and neither type exhibits the predicted deficit in gas relative to normal galaxies. The gas mass fraction of quasar hosts appears unaffected by the bolometric luminosity of the active nucleus, although their interstellar radiation field is preferentially higher than that of normal galaxies, potentially implicating active galactic nucleus heating of the large-scale galactic dust.