Spectrum of quasar J1007+2115. Credit: Liu et al., 2024.
An international team of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to make spectroscopic observations of a bright quasar known as J1007+2115. They detected a rapid outflow coming from the quasar’s host galaxy. The discovery was reported in a paper published September 20 on the preprint server. arXiv.
Quasars, or quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), are active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of very high luminosity, emitting electromagnetic radiation observable in radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray wavelengths.
They are among the brightest and most distant objects in the known universe and constitute fundamental tools for many studies in astrophysics and cosmology. For example, quasars have been used to study the large-scale structure of the universe and the era of reionization. They have also improved our understanding of the dynamics of supermassive black holes and the intergalactic medium.
With a redshift of 7.51, J1007+2115 is one of the highest redshift quasars known to date. It has a bolometric luminosity of about 204 quattuordecillion erg/s and its black hole has a mass of about 1.43 billion solar masses.
Previous observations of J1007+2115 revealed that its host galaxy has an abundance of molecular gas and dust, with masses between 22 and 0.17 billion solar masses. Additionally, this galaxy is experiencing rapid star formation since its star formation rate is estimated to be between 80 and 250 solar masses per year.
Now, a group of astronomers led by Weizhe Liu of the Steward Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, reports new findings regarding the host of J1007+2115. Using the NIRSpec integral field unit on board JWST, they identified widespread emission of doubly ionized oxygen (O III). This emission is highly blue-shifted and broad, extending out to about 6,500 light years from the quasar.
Further analysis showed that the emission most likely follows a rapid exit into this quasar’s host galaxy. Therefore, given the high redshift of the quasar, this is the first galactic-scale outing known at present.
According to the paper, the flow rate of the pulse is about 3.7 undecillion dynes, which constitutes about 61 percent of the radiation pressure force provided by the quasar. Additionally, the kinetic energy output rate, at a level of 0.36 quattuordecillion erg/s, represents approximately 0.2% of the bolometric luminosity of the quasar. These results suggest that the quasar is powerful enough to easily direct the outflow.
The study found that the flow has a high velocity of around 2,100 km/s, suggesting that it could easily escape from the host galaxy. The mass flow rate was calculated at a level of 300 solar masses per year, while the average dynamic timescale of the flow was estimated at approximately 1.7 million years.
More information:
Weizhe Liu et al, Rapid exit into the host galaxy of the luminous z = 7.5 Quasar J1007+2115, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2409.13189
Journal information:
arXiv
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