Presentation #129.07 in the session AGN and Quasars II.
The observed optical colors of quasars are generally interpreted in one of two frameworks: unified models that attribute color to the orientation of the accretion disk, and evolutionary models that invoke connections between quasars and their environments. We test these schemas by examining the large-scale structures associated with quasars of different optical colors, via the two-point correlation functions and gravitational deflection of cosmic microwave background. We do not detect a trend of halo bias, finding that optically selected quasars at 0.8 < z < 2.2 occupy halos of characteristic mass Mh ~ 3 × 1012 h -1 M⊙ regardless of their optical color. We also confirm the findings of fundamental differences in the radio properties of red and blue quasars, suggesting the observed differences cannot be attributed to orientation, but instead likely arise on nuclear-galactic scales perhaps owing to reddening by a nuclear dusty wind. We discuss the implications of this result for models of quasar and galaxy coevolution.