No Arabic abstract
Radio sources at the highest redshifts can provide unique information on the first massive galaxies and black holes, the densest primordial environments, and the epoch of reionization. The number of astronomical objects identified at z>6 has increased dramatically over the last few years, but previously only three radio-loud (R2500>10) sources had been reported at z>6, with the most distant being a quasar at z=6.18. Here we present the discovery and characterization of P172+18, a radio-loud quasar at z=6.823. This source has an MgII-based black hole mass of ~3x10^8 Msun and is one of the fastest accreting quasars, consistent with super-Eddington accretion. The ionized region around the quasar is among the largest measured at these redshifts, implying an active phase longer than the average lifetime of the z>6 quasar population. From archival data, there is evidence that its 1.4 GHz emission has decreased by a factor of two over the last two decades. The quasars radio spectrum between 1.4 and 3.0 GHz is steep (alpha=-1.31) and has a radio-loudness parameter R2500~90. A second steep radio source (alpha=-0.83) of comparable brightness to the quasar is only 23.1 away (~120 kpc at z=6.82; projection probability <2%), but shows no optical or near-infrared counterpart. Further follow-up is required to establish whether these two sources are physically associated.
We present high angular resolution imaging of the quasar PSO J172.3556+18.7734 at $z=6.82$ with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). This source currently holds the record of being the highest redshift radio-loud quasar. These observations reveal a dominant radio source with a flux density of $398.4 pm 61.4~mu$Jy at 1.53 GHz, a deconvolved size of $9.9 times 3.5$ mas ($52.5 times 18.6$ pc), and an intrinsic brightness temperature of ($4.7 pm 0.7) times 10^7$ K. A weak unresolved radio extension from the main source is also detected at $sim~3.1sigma$ level. The total flux density recovered with the VLBA at 1.53 GHz is consistent with that measured with the Very Large Array (VLA) at a similar frequency. The quasar is not detected at 4.67 GHz with the VLBA, suggesting a steep spectral index with a limit of $alpha^{1.53}_{4.67} < -$1.55. The quasar is also not detected with the VLBA at 7.67 GHz. The overall characteristics of the quasar suggest that it is a very young radio source similar to lower redshift Gigahertz Peaked Spectrum radio sources, with an estimated kinematic age of $sim~10^3$ years. The VLA observations of this quasar revealed a second radio source in the field $23rlap{.}{}1$ away. This radio source, which does not have an optical or IR counterpart, is not detected with the VLBA at any of the observed frequencies. Its non-detection at the lowest observed VLBA frequency suggests that it is resolved out, implying a size larger than ~$0rlap{.}{}17$. It is thus likely situated at lower redshift than the quasar.
In this letter we report the discovery of a z=4.88 radio galaxy discovered with a new technique which does not rely on pre-selection of a sample based on radio properties such as steep-spectral index or small angular size. This radio galaxy was discovered in the Elais-N2 field and has a spectral index of alpha = 0.75, i.e. not ultra-steep spectrum. It also has a luminosity consistent with being drawn from the break of the radio luminosity function and can therefore be considered as a typical radio galaxy. Using the Spitzer-SWIRE data over this field we find that the host galaxy is consistent with being similarly massive to the lower redshift powerful radio galaxies (~1-3L*). We note however, that at z=4.88 the H-alpha line is redshifted into the IRAC 3.6micron filter and some of the flux in this band may be due to this rather than stellar continuum emission. The discovery of such a distant radio source from our initial spectroscopic observations demonstrate the promise of our survey for finding the most distant radio sources.
We present high angular resolution imaging ($23.9 times 11.3$ mas, $138.6 times 65.5$ pc) of the radio-loud quasar PSO~J352.4034$-$15.3373 at $z=5.84$ with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.54 GHz. This quasar has the highest radio-to-optical flux density ratio at such a redshift, making it the radio-loudest source known to date at $z sim 6$. The VLBA observations presented here resolve this quasar into multiple components with an overall linear extent of 1.62 kpc ($0rlap{.}{}28$) and with a total flux density of $6.57 pm 0.38$ mJy, which is about half of the emission measured at a much lower angular resolution. The morphology of the source is comparable with either a radio core with a one-sided jet, or a compact or a medium-size Symmetric Object (CSO/MSO). If the source is a CSO/MSO, and assuming an advance speed of $0.2c$, then the estimated kinematic age is $sim 10^4$ yr.
We report the discovery of a small separation quasar pair (z=0.586, O=18.4, 19.2, sep. = 2.3 arcsec) associated with the radio source FIRST J164311.3+315618 (S_1400 = 120 mJy). The spectrum of the brighter quasar (A) has a much stronger narrow emission-line spectrum than the other (B), and also stronger Balmer lines relative to the continuum. The continuum ratio of the spectra is flat in the blue at about 2.1, but falls to 1.5 at longer wavelengths. A K image shows two unresolved sources with a flux ratio of 1.3. The different colors appear to result from the contribution of the host galaxy of B, which is evident from Ca II and high-order Balmer absorption lines indicative of a substantial young stellar population. New 3.6 cm VLA observations show that the compact radio source is coincident with quasar A (B is only marginally detected). We rule out the lensing hypothesis because the optical flux ratio is A/B = 1.2 to 2, while the radio flux ratio is A/B > 40, and conclude that this system is a binary. Moreover, the radio-loud quasar is a compact steep spectrum source. FIRST J164311.3+315618A, B is the lowest redshift and smallest separation binary quasar yet identified.
We carry out a series of deep Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) S-band observations of a sample of 21 quasars at $zsim6$. The new observations expand the searches of radio continuum emission to the optically faint quasar population at the highest redshift with rest-frame $4400 rm AA$ luminosities down to $3 times10^{11} L_{odot}$. We report the detections of two new radio-loud quasars: CFHQS J2242+0334 (hereafter J2242+0334) at $z=5.88$ and CFHQS J0227$-$0605 (hereafter J0227$-$0605) at $z=6.20$, detected with 3 GHz flux densities of $87.0 pm 6.3 mu rm Jy$ and $55.4 pm 6.7 mu rm Jy$, respectively. Their radio replaced{loudness}{loudnesses} are estimated to be $54.9 pm 4.7$ and $16.5 pm 3.2$, respectively. To better constrain the radio-loud fraction (RLF), we combine the new measurements with the archival VLA L-band data as well as available data from the literature, considering the upper limits for non-detections and deleted{and} possible selection effects. The final derived RLF is $9.4 pm 5.7%$ for the optically selected quasars at $zsim6$. We also compare the RLF to that of the quasar samples at low redshift and check the RLF in different quasar luminosity bins. The RLF for the optically faint objects is still poorly constrained due to the limited sample size. Our replaced{result}{results} show no evidence of significant quasar RLF evolution with redshift. There is also no clear trend of RLF evolution with quasar UV/optical luminosity due to the limited sample size of optically faint objects with deep radio observations.