A Deep HST H-Band Imaging Survey of Massive Gas-Rich Mergers. II. The
  QUEST PG QSOs
  We report the results from a deep HST NICMOS H-band imaging survey of 28 z <
0.3 QSOs from the Palomar-Green (PG) sample. This program is part of QUEST
(Quasar / ULIRG Evolution STudy) and complements a similar set of data on 26
highly-nucleated ULIRGs presented in Paper I. Our analysis indicates that the
fraction of QSOs with elliptical hosts is higher among QSOs with undetected
far-infrared (FIR) emission, small infrared excess, and luminous hosts. The
hosts of FIR-faint QSOs show a tendency to have less pronounced merger-induced
morphological anomalies and larger QSO-to-host luminosity ratios on average
than the hosts of FIR-bright QSOs, consistent with late-merger evolution from
FIR-bright to FIR-faint QSOs. The spheroid sizes and total host luminosities of
the radio-quiet PG QSOs in our sample are statistically indistinguishable from
the ULIRG hosts presented in Paper I, while those of radio-loud PG QSOs are
systematically larger and more luminous. ULIRGs and PG QSOs with elliptical
hosts fall near, but not exactly on, the fundamental plane of inactive
spheroids. We confirm the systematic trend noted in Paper I for objects with
small (< 2 kpc) spheroids to be up to ~1 mag. brighter than inactive spheroids.
The host colors and wavelength dependence of their sizes support the idea that
these deviations are due at least in part to non-nuclear star formation.
However, the amplitudes of these deviations does not depend on host R-H colors.
Taken at face value (i.e., no correction for extinction or the presence of a
young stellar population), the H-band spheroid-host luminosities imply BH
masses ~5 -- 200 x 10^7 M_sun and sub-Eddington mass accretion rates for both
QSOs and ULIRGs. These results are compared with published BH mass estimates
derived from other methods. (abridged)
