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Register a new userChandra measurement of the X-ray spectrum of a quasar at z=5.99
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We report the first measurement of the X-ray spectrum of the z = 5.99 quasar SDSSp J130608.26+035626.3 from a 120 ks observation by the Chandra ACIS-S instrument. Between 0.5 and 7 keV, corresponding to 3.5--49 keV in the quasar rest frame, we find an energy index of 0.86 +/- 0.2, consistent with the typical indices found for radio quiet quasars at lower redshifts, and inconsistent with the index required to match the diffuse X-ray background. We have a weak indication of a redshifted Fe-K line. In comparing the counting rate between an earlier, short observation and the longer observation reported here, we find evidence for source variability at the 99.9% confidence level. We note that other nearby X-ray sources would bias the measured alpha_{ox} = 1.70 by -0.09 if the X-ray flux were determined from within a 60 extraction circle. Our results for the energy index and the alpha_{ox} are consistent with no strong evolution in the active galactic nucleus emission mechanism with redshift out to z ~ 6, and therefore with the picture that massive black holes have already formed less than 1 Gyr after the big bang.
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We report on observations of a TypeII quasar at redshift z=3.288, identified as a hard X-ray source in a 185 ks observation with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and as a high-redshift photometric candidate from deep, multiband optical imaging. CXOJ084837.9+445352 (hereinafter CXO52) shows an unusually hard X-ray spectrum from which we infer an absorbing column density N(H) = (4.8+/-2.1)e23 / cm2 (90% confidence) and an implied unabsorbed 2-10 keV rest-frame luminosity of L(2-10) = 3.3e44 ergs/s, well within the quasar regime. Hubble Space Telescope imaging shows CXO52 to be elongated with slight morphological differences between the WFPC2 F814W and NICMOS F160W bands. Optical and near-infrared spectroscopy of CXO52 show high-ionization emission lines with velocity widths ~1000 km/s and flux ratios similar to a Seyfert2 galaxy or radio galaxy. The latter are the only class of high-redshift TypeII luminous AGN which have been extensively studied to date. Unlike radio galaxies, however, CXO52 is radio quiet, remaining undetected at radio wavelengths to fairly deep limits, f(4.8GHz) < 40 microJy. High-redshift TypeII quasars, expected from unification models of active galaxies and long-thought necessary to explain the X-ray background, are poorly constrained observationally with few such systems known. We discuss recent observations of similar TypeII quasars and detail search techniques for such systems: namely (1) X-ray selection, (2) radio selection, (3) multi-color imaging selection, and (4) narrow-band imaging selection. Such studies are likely to begin identifying luminous, high-redshift TypeII systems in large numbers. We discuss the prospects for these studies and their implications to our understanding of the X-ray background.
We report Chandra detection of three UV bright radio quiet quasars at $zgtrsim5$. We have collected a sufficient number of photons to extract an X-ray spectrum of each quasar to measure their basic X-ray properties, such as the X-ray flux, power law photon index ($Gamma$), and optical-to-X-ray spectral slope ($alpha_{rm OX}$). J074749+115352 at $z=5.26$ is the X-ray brightest radio-quiet quasar at $z>5$. It may have a short timescale variation (on a timescale of $sim3800rm~s$ in the observers frame, or $sim600rm~s$ in the rest frame) which is however largely embedded in the statistical noise. We extract phase folded spectra of this quasar. There are two distinguishable states: a high soft state with an average X-ray flux $sim2.7$ times of the low hard state, and a significantly steeper X-ray spectral slope ($Gamma=2.40_{-0.32}^{+0.33}$ vs $1.78_{-0.24}^{+0.25}$). We also compare the three quasars detected in this paper to other quasar samples. We find that J074749+115352, with a SMBH mass of $M_{rm SMBH}approx1.8times10^9rm~M_odot$ and an Eddington ratio of $lambda_{rm Edd}approx2.3$, is extraordinarily X-ray bright. It has an average $alpha_{rm OX}=-1.46pm0.02$ and a 2-10 keV bolometric correction factor of $L_{rm bol}/L_{rm2-10keV}=42.4pm5.8$, both significantly depart from some well defined scaling relations. We compare $Gamma$ of the three quasars to other samples at different redshifts, and do not find any significant redshift evolution based on the limited sample of $z>5$ quasars with reliable measurements of the X-ray spectral properties.
We have made a 30 ksec Chandra observation of the redshift z=0.63 GPS quasar B2 0738+313. We detected X-ray emission from the core and have discovered a 200 kpc (projected on the sky) X-ray jet. The X-ray jet is narrow and curves, following the extended radio structure to the south of the quasar, and ending with a hot spot at the southernmost part of the radio lobe. The jet has a knot at ~13 arcsec away from the core. The knot emission is consistent with the X-rays being created by the inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons and requires jet bulk Lorentz factors of a few (Gamma_{bulk} ~ 5-7). We discuss the emission mechanisms that may be responsible for the jet emission. We present new VLA data of the core and jet, and discuss the relation between the extended radio and X-ray emission. Extended emission observed in several GPS sources has been interpreted as a signature of the source past activity, while the GPS source is young and newly expanded. We argue that B2~0738+313 may be an example of a new class of radio sources similar to the FRII radio galaxies in their high jet bulk velocities, but with the powerful GPS-like nucleus. B2 0738+313 also has two damped Lyman-alpha systems along the line of sight, at z_{abs} = 0.0912 and 0.2212. We discuss the possible connection between the X-ray absorption (7.2+/-0.9 e20 cm(-2)) detected in the ACIS spectrum and these two intervening absorbers. We also investigate an extended structure within the central 10 arcsec of the core in the relation to structure seen in the optical.
Cold quasars are a rare subpopulation observed to host unobscured, X-ray luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) while also retaining a cold gas supply fueling high star formation rates. These objects are interpreted as AGN early in their evolution. We present new SOFIA HAWC+ far-infrared observations, FUV-FIR photometry, and optical spectroscopy to characterize the accretion and star formation behavior in a cold quasar at z ~ 0.405 (CQ 4479). CQ 4479 is a starburst galaxy with a predominantly young stellar population and a high gas mass fraction of ~50-70%. The AGN component has yet to become the dominant component of the FIR emission. We also find AGN bolometric luminosity that varies as a function of observation method and AGN region probed. Finally, we identify a candidate outflow feature corroborating the hypothesis that cold quasars have energetic feedback. This object presents an intriguing look into the early stages of AGN feedback and probes the rare phase where an AGN and cold gaseous component co-exist.
We present the results of optical spectroscopy for 19 quasar candidates at photometric redshifts $zphot gtrsim 3$, Nobs of which enter into the Khorunzhev et al.~(2016) catalog (K16). This is a catalog of quasar candidates and known type 1 quasars selected among the X-ray sources of the textit{3XMM-DR4}catalog of the XMM-Newton serendipitous survey. We have performed spectroscopy for a quasi-random sample of new candidates at the 1.6-m Azt telescope of the Sayan Solar Observatory and the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory. The spectra at Azt were taken with the new low- and medium-resolution ADAM spectrograph that was produced and installed on the telescope in 2015. Fourteen of the Nobs candidates actually have turned out to be quasars; 10 of them are at spectroscopic redshifts z > 3. The high purity of the sample of new candidates suggests that the purity of the entire K16 catalog of quasars is probably 70--80%. One of the most distant ($zspec=5.08$) optically bright ($i^primelesssim 21$) quasars ever detected in X-ray surveys has been discovered.
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