OPTICAL IMAGING OF QSOS WITH 0.5 ARCSEC RESOLUTION

We present optical imaging data on 28 low redshift QSOs with 0.5 arcsec resolution. The group includes a range of radio and IR luminosities. The high-resolution data reveal significant new morphological information on 16 objects, and yield good luminosity profiles on all of them. Most objects appear to have R1/4 law or peculiar luminosity profiles. The QSOs are almost all found to be in merging or interacting galaxies, most of them with a smaller companion. The observed structural details appear to be similar to lower luminosity AGN at low redshift. There are a few unexplained features such as "jets" near the nucleus. Detailed descriptions are given of all objects. We also describe new high-resolution radio observations of a few of the QSOs.