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Register a new userWitnessing the transformation of a quasar host galaxy at z=1.6
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A. Humphrey
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A significant minority of high redshift radio galaxy (HzRG) candidates show extremely red broad band colours and remain undetected in emission lines after optical `discovery spectroscopy. In this paper we present deep GTC optical imaging and spectroscopy of one such radio galaxy, 5C 7.245, with the aim of better understanding the nature of these enigmatic objects. Our g-band image shows no significant emission coincident with the stellar emission of the host galaxy, but does reveal faint emission offset by ~3 (26 kpc) therefrom along a similar position angle to that of the radio jets, reminiscent of the `alignment effect often seen in the optically luminous HzRGs. This offset g-band source is also detected in several UV emission lines, giving it a redshift of 1.609, with emission line flux ratios inconsistent with photoionization by young stars or an AGN, but consistent with ionization by fast shocks. Based on its unusual gas geometry, we argue that in 5C 7.245 we are witnessing a rare (or rarely observed) phase in the evolution of quasar hosts when stellar mass assembly, accretion onto the back hole, and powerful feedback activity has eradicated its cold gas from the central ~20 kpc, but is still in the process of cleansing cold gas from its extended halo.
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We present a new study of archival ALMA observations of the CO(2-1) line emission of the host galaxy of quasar RX J1131 at redshift $z$=0.654, lensed by a foreground galaxy. A simple lens model is shown to well reproduce the optical images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Clear evidence for rotation of the gas contained in the galaxy is obtained and a simple rotating disc model is shown to give an excellent overall description of the morpho-kinematics of the source. The possible presence of a companion galaxy suggested by some previous authors is not confirmed. Detailed comparison between model and observations gives evidence for a more complex dynamics than implied by the model. Doppler velocity dispersion within the beam size in the image plane is found to account for the observed line width.
We report the discovery of eMACSJ1341-QG-1, a quiescent galaxy at $z=1.594$ located behind the massive galaxy cluster eMACSJ1341.9$-$2442 ($z=0.835$). The system was identified as a gravitationally lensed triple image in Hubble Space Telescope images obtained as part of a snapshot survey of the most X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at $z>0.5$ and spectroscopically confirmed in ground-based follow-up observations with the ESO/X-Shooter spectrograph. From the constraints provided by the triple image, we derive a first, crude model of the mass distribution of the cluster lens, which predicts a gravitational amplification of a factor of $sim$30 for the primary image and a factor of $sim$6 for the remaining two images of the source, making eMACSJ1341-QG-1 by far the most strongly amplified quiescent galaxy discovered to date. Our discovery underlines the power of SNAPshot observations of massive, X-ray selected galaxy clusters for lensing-assisted studies of faint background populations.
We present IRAM/NOEMA and JVLA observations of the quasar J1342+0928 at z=7.54 and report detections of copious amounts of dust and [CII] emission in the interstellar medium (ISM) of its host galaxy. At this redshift, the age of the universe is 690 Myr, about 10% younger than the redshift of the previous quasar record holder. Yet, the ISM of this new quasar host galaxy is significantly enriched by metals, as evidenced by the detection of the [CII] 158micron cooling line and the underlying far-infrared (FIR) dust continuum emission. To the first order, the FIR properties of this quasar host are similar to those found at a slightly lower redshift (z~6), making this source by far the FIR-brightest galaxy known at z>7.5. The [CII] emission is spatially unresolved, with an upper limit on the diameter of 7 kpc. Together with the measured FWHM of the [CII] line, this yields a dynamical mass of the host of <1.5x10^11 M_sun. Using standard assumptions about the dust temperature and emissivity, the NOEMA measurements give a dust mass of (0.6-4.3)x10^8 M_sun. The brightness of the [CII] luminosity, together with the high dust mass, imply active ongoing star formation in the quasar host. Using [CII]-SFR scaling relations, we derive star formation rates of 85-545 M_sun/yr in the host, consistent with the values derived from the dust continuum. Indeed, an episode of such past high star formation is needed to explain the presence of ~10^8 M_sun of dust implied by the observations.
Observations of the molecular gas phase in quasar host galaxies provide fundamental constraints on galaxy evolution at the highest redshifts. Molecular gas is the material out of which stars form; it can be traced by spectral line emission of carbon--monoxide (CO). To date, CO emission has been detected in more than a dozen quasar host galaxies with redshifts (z) larger 2, the record holder being at z=4.69. At these distances the CO lines are shifted to longer wavelengths, enabling their observation with sensitive radio and millimetre interferometers. Here we present the discovery of CO emission toward the quasar SDSS J114816.64+525150.3 (hereafter J1148+5251) at a redshift of z=6.42, when the universe was only 1/16 of its present age. This is the first detection of molecular gas at the end of cosmic reionization. The presence of large amounts of molecular gas (M(H_2)=2.2e10 M_sun) in an object at this time demonstrates that heavy element enriched molecular gas can be generated rapidly in the earliest galaxies.
We report the detection of high excitation CO emission from the most distant quasar currently known, SDSS J114816.64+525150.3 (hereafter J1148+5251), at a redshift z=6.419. The CO (J=6-5) and (J=7-6) lines were detected using the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer, showing a width of ~280 km/s. An upper flux limit for the CO (J=1-0) line was obtained from observations with the Effelsberg 100-meter telescope. Assuming no gravitational magnification, we estimate a molecular gas mass of ~2x10^10 M_sun. Using the CO (3-2) observations by Walter et al. (2003), a comparison of the line flux ratios with predictions from a large velocity gradient model suggests that the gas is likely of high excitation, at densities ~10^5 cm^-3 and a temperature ~100 K. Since in this case the CO lines appear to have moderate optical depths, the gas must be extended over a few kpc. The gas mass detected in J1148+5251 can fuel star formation at the rate implied by the far-infrared luminosity for less than 10 million years, a time comparable to the dynamical time of the region. The gas must therefore be replenished quickly, and metal and dust enrichment must occur fast. The strong dust emission and massive, dense gas reservoir at z~6.4 provide further evidence that vigorous star formation is co-eval with the rapid growth of massive black holes at these early epochs of the Universe.
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