Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6
We present observations using the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) of CO and H _2 O emission lines and the underlying dust continuum in two quasars at z ∼ 6, i.e., P215−16 at z = 5.78 and J1429+5447 at z = 6.18. Notably, among all published CO spectral line energy distributions (SLEDs) of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1754 |
| _version_ | 1797314901874573312 |
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| author | Jianan Li Ran Wang Antonio Pensabene Fabian Walter Bram P. Venemans Roberto Decarli Eduardo Bañados Pierre Cox Roberto Neri Alain Omont Zheng Cai Yana Khusanova Fuxiang Xu Dominik Riechers Jeff Wagg Yali Shao Yuanqi Liu Karl M. Menten Qiong Li Xiaohui Fan |
| author_facet | Jianan Li Ran Wang Antonio Pensabene Fabian Walter Bram P. Venemans Roberto Decarli Eduardo Bañados Pierre Cox Roberto Neri Alain Omont Zheng Cai Yana Khusanova Fuxiang Xu Dominik Riechers Jeff Wagg Yali Shao Yuanqi Liu Karl M. Menten Qiong Li Xiaohui Fan |
| author_sort | Jianan Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present observations using the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) of CO and H _2 O emission lines and the underlying dust continuum in two quasars at z ∼ 6, i.e., P215−16 at z = 5.78 and J1429+5447 at z = 6.18. Notably, among all published CO spectral line energy distributions (SLEDs) of quasars at z ∼ 6, the two systems reveal the highest and the lowest CO levels of excitation, respectively. Our radiative transfer modeling of the CO SLED of P215−16 suggests that the molecular gas heated by active galactic nuclei could be a plausible origin for the high CO excitation. For J1429+5447, we obtain the first well-sampled CO SLED (from transitions from 2−1 to 10−9) of a radio-loud quasar at z ≳ 6. Analysis of the CO SLED suggests that a component from a single photodissociation region could explain the CO excitation in the radio-loud quasar J1429+5447. This work highlights the utility of the CO SLED in uncovering the properties of the interstellar medium in these young quasar–starburst systems at the highest redshift. The diversity of the CO SLEDs reveals the complexities in gas conditions and excitation mechanisms at their early evolutionary stage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:52:53Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-39a36618755f45b2a0d056b569eb5f61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:52:53Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-39a36618755f45b2a0d056b569eb5f612024-02-13T13:05:34ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01962211910.3847/1538-4357/ad1754Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6Jianan Li0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1815-4839Ran Wang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4956-5742Antonio Pensabene2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9815-4953Fabian Walter3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4793-7880Bram P. Venemans4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9024-8322Roberto Decarli5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2662-8803Eduardo Bañados6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2931-7824Pierre Cox7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2027-8221Roberto Neri8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7176-4046Alain Omont9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4721-3922Zheng Cai10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8467-6478Yana Khusanova11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7220-397XFuxiang Xu12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0754-9795Dominik Riechers13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9585-1462Jeff Wagg14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1815-4839Yali Shao15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1478-2598Yuanqi Liu16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9321-6000Karl M. Menten17https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6459-0669Qiong Li18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3119-9003Xiaohui Fan19https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3310-0131Department of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; rwangkiaa@pku.edu.cn; Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China ; jiananl@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnKavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China ; jiananl@mail.tsinghua.edu.cnDipartimento di Fisica “G. Occhialini,” Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca , Piazza della Scienza 3, I-20126, Milano, ItalyMax Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, Germany; National Radio Astronomy Observatory , Pete V. Domenici Array Science Center, P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801, USALeiden Observatory, Leiden University , P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The NetherlandsINAF—Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio , via Gobetti 93/3, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyMax Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, GermanySorbonne Université , UPMC Université Paris 6 and CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, F-75014 Paris, FranceInstitut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) , 300 Rue de la Piscine, F-38400 Saint-Martin-d’Héres, FranceInstitut d’Astrophysique de Paris, Sorbonne Université , CNRS, UMR 7095, 98 bis bd Arago, F-75014 Paris, FranceDepartment of Astronomy, Tsinghua University , Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China ; rwangkiaa@pku.edu.cnMax Planck Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, GermanyKavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China ; jiananl@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of ChinaI. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln , Zülpicher Strasse 77, D-50937 Köln, GermanyPIFI Visiting Scientist , Purple Mountain Observatory, No. 8 Yuanhua Road, Qixia District, Nanjing 210034, People's Republic of ChinaSchool of Space and Environment, Beihang University , Beijing, People's Republic of ChinaShanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 80 Nandan Road, Shanghai 200030, People's Republic of ChinaMax-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie , Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, GermanyJodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, University of Manchester , Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UKSteward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAWe present observations using the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) of CO and H _2 O emission lines and the underlying dust continuum in two quasars at z ∼ 6, i.e., P215−16 at z = 5.78 and J1429+5447 at z = 6.18. Notably, among all published CO spectral line energy distributions (SLEDs) of quasars at z ∼ 6, the two systems reveal the highest and the lowest CO levels of excitation, respectively. Our radiative transfer modeling of the CO SLED of P215−16 suggests that the molecular gas heated by active galactic nuclei could be a plausible origin for the high CO excitation. For J1429+5447, we obtain the first well-sampled CO SLED (from transitions from 2−1 to 10−9) of a radio-loud quasar at z ≳ 6. Analysis of the CO SLED suggests that a component from a single photodissociation region could explain the CO excitation in the radio-loud quasar J1429+5447. This work highlights the utility of the CO SLED in uncovering the properties of the interstellar medium in these young quasar–starburst systems at the highest redshift. The diversity of the CO SLEDs reveals the complexities in gas conditions and excitation mechanisms at their early evolutionary stage.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1754Submillimeter astronomyAGN host galaxiesMolecular gasEarly universe |
| spellingShingle | Jianan Li Ran Wang Antonio Pensabene Fabian Walter Bram P. Venemans Roberto Decarli Eduardo Bañados Pierre Cox Roberto Neri Alain Omont Zheng Cai Yana Khusanova Fuxiang Xu Dominik Riechers Jeff Wagg Yali Shao Yuanqi Liu Karl M. Menten Qiong Li Xiaohui Fan Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 The Astrophysical Journal Submillimeter astronomy AGN host galaxies Molecular gas Early universe |
| title | Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| title_full | Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| title_fullStr | Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| title_short | Diverse Molecular Gas Excitations in Quasar Host Galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| title_sort | diverse molecular gas excitations in quasar host galaxies at z ∼ 6 |
| topic | Submillimeter astronomy AGN host galaxies Molecular gas Early universe |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad1754 |
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