A search for quasars in a field around NGC 520

An objective-prism search for quasars was performed in a field around the galaxy NGC 520. The automated quasar detection software has been applied, and a sample of 175 highly rated quasar candidates has been selected. The two- and three-dimensional distributions of the candidates have been analyzed. The distribution on the celestial sphere turns out to be nonrandom. The deviations from randomness are both a tendency to exhibit anticorrelation at the scale of a few arcmin and a significant excess of objects at separations of about 20 arcmin. Finally, in order to test the claims by Arp and Duhalde (1985) that an excess of quasars exists near NGC 520 and that there is a preferential NE-SW alignment of bright quasars across this amorphous galaxy, various statistical analyses of the distribution of the high-grade quasar candidates with respect to NGC 520 were performed. No sign of any possible relation is present in the data.