Merging Gas-rich Galaxies That Harbor Low-luminosity Twin Quasars at z = 6.05: A Promising Progenitor of the Most Luminous Quasars

Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array [C ii ] 158 μ m line and underlying far-IR continuum emission observations (0.″57 × 0.″46 resolution) toward a quasar–quasar pair system recently discovered at z = 6.05. The quasar nuclei (C1 and C2) are faint ( M 1450 ≳ −23 mag), but we detect very bright [C ii ] emission bridging the 12 kpc between the two objects and extending beyond them (total luminosity L [C ii ] ≃ 6 × 10 9 L ⊙ ). The [C ii ]-based total star formation rate of the system is ∼550 M ⊙ yr −1 (the IR-based dust-obscured star formation is ∼100 M ⊙ yr −1 ), with a [C ii ]-based total gas mass of ∼10 11 M ⊙ . The dynamical masses of the two galaxies are large (∼9 × 10 10 M ⊙ for C1 and ∼5 × 10 10 M ⊙ for C2). There is a smooth velocity gradient in [C ii ], indicating that these quasars are a tidally interacting system. We identified a dynamically distinct, fast-[C ii ] component around C1: detailed inspection of the line spectrum there reveals the presence of a broad-wing component, which we interpret as the indication of fast outflows with a velocity of ∼600 km s −1 . The expected mass-loading factor of the outflows, after accounting for multiphase gas, is ≳2 − 3, which is intermediate between AGN-driven and starburst-driven outflows. Hydrodynamic simulations in the literature predict that this pair will evolve to a luminous ( M 1450 ≲ −26 mag), starbursting (≳1000 M ⊙ yr −1 ) quasar after coalescence, one of the most extreme populations in the early Universe.

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Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2024-08-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad57c6
Citations
7
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.32

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article

Merging Gas-rich Galaxies That Harbor Low-luminosity Twin Quasars at z = 6.05: A Promising Progenitor of the Most Luminous Quasars

Takuma Izumi, Seiji Fujimoto, Kentaro Aoki, Toshihiro Kawaguchi et al.
7 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
2.32
article

Merging Gas-rich Galaxies That Harbor Low-luminosity Twin Quasars at z = 6.05: A Promising Progenitor of the Most Luminous Quasars

Takuma Izumi, Seiji Fujimoto, Kentaro Aoki, Toshihiro Kawaguchi, Masafusa Onoue, Satoshi Kikuta, Mahoshi Sawamura, J. D. Silverman, Michael A. Strauss, Tohru Nagao, Yoshiki Toba, Yoshiki Matsuoka, Tomotsugu Goto, Masatoshi Imanishi, Hideki Umehata, Kouichiro Nakanishi, Kotaro Kohno, K. Iwasawa
article en
7 citations

Abstract

Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array [C ii ] 158 μ m line and underlying far-IR continuum emission observations (0.″57 × 0.″46 resolution) toward a quasar–quasar pair system recently discovered at z = 6.05. The quasar nuclei (C1 and C2) are faint ( M 1450 ≳ −23 mag), but we detect very bright [C ii ] emission bridging the 12 kpc between the two objects and extending beyond them (total luminosity L [C ii ] ≃ 6 × 10 9 L ⊙ ). The [C ii ]-based total star formation rate of the system is ∼550 M ⊙ yr −1 (the IR-based dust-obscured star formation is ∼100 M ⊙ yr −1 ), with a [C ii ]-based total gas mass of ∼10 11 M ⊙ . The dynamical masses of the two galaxies are large (∼9 × 10 10 M ⊙ for C1 and ∼5 × 10 10 M ⊙ for C2). There is a smooth velocity gradient in [C ii ], indicating that these quasars are a tidally interacting system. We identified a dynamically distinct, fast-[C ii ] component around C1: detailed inspection of the line spectrum there reveals the presence of a broad-wing component, which we interpret as the indication of fast outflows with a velocity of ∼600 km s −1 . The expected mass-loading factor of the outflows, after accounting for multiphase gas, is ≳2 − 3, which is intermediate between AGN-driven and starburst-driven outflows. Hydrodynamic simulations in the literature predict that this pair will evolve to a luminous ( M 1450 ≲ −26 mag), starbursting (≳1000 M ⊙ yr −1 ) quasar after coalescence, one of the most extreme populations in the early Universe.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 972(1)
Kagoshima University (JP), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), California Institute of Technology (US), University of Copenhagen (DK), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (TW), Johns Hopkins University (US), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI (JP), Princeton University (US), Peking University (CN), Subaru (Japan) (JP), National Tsing Hua University (TW), Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (CN), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), Ehime University (JP), Onomichi City University (JP), Nagoya University (JP), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), The University of Tokyo (JP), The University of Texas at Austin (US)
National Science Foundation, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Science and Technology Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
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Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
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