Program: GN-2013B-Q-103

The global star formation rate and quasar activity show a remarkable co-evolution through cosmic time, and direct links between starbursts and quasars have long been suggested. Popular theoretical models posit that wet major mergers of galaxies trigger both intense starbursts and quasar activity. However, the merger-starburst- quasar connection has proven remarkably hard to pin down both as a global phenomenon and for individual systems. Samples of systems that harbor both a luminous quasar and an active ongoing starburst are needed to address this problem. We have identified a sample of "starburst quasars" using data from the SDSS/BOSS and WISE surveys to select optically bright, unobscured, broad-line quasars with mid-IR SEDs entirely dominated by the starburst. We request GMOS long slit spectroscopy of five starburst quasars with moderate [OIII] luminosities ($~ 10^{41-42}$ erg/s) at redshifts 0.6-0.9 to further characterize these sources and determine if they are, in fact, a younger transitional population compared to non-starburst quasars at similar redshifts and luminosities. We will specifically measure 1) [OIII] to probe the extent and kinematics of the narrow line regions and possible large-scale outflows, 2) broad H-beta to derive black hole masses and Eddington ratios, and 3) [OII], narrow H-beta, and other lines, as available, to help constrain the star formation rates and sources of ionization.