Predictions of Quasar Clustering: Redshift, Luminosity and Selection Dependence

We show that current clustering observations of quasars and luminous AGN can be explained by a merger model augmented by feedback from outflows. Using numerical simulations large enough to study clustering out to 25 comoving h−1 Mpc, we calculate correlation functions, biases, and correlation lengths as a function of AGN redshift and optical and X‐ray luminosity. At optical wavelengths, our results match a wide range of current observations and generate predictions for future data sets. However, at redshifts z>3, our results do not match the rapid evolution of the correlation length observed in the SDSS, a discrepancy that is at least partially due to differences in the scales probed by our simulation versus this survey. In the X‐ray, our simulations produce correlation lengths similar to what is observed in the Chandra Deep Field (CDF) North, but not the significantly larger correlation length observed in the CDF South.