Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003

Details Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003 Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003

2002-11-03

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0211035v2

Astron.Astrophys. 397 (2003) 891

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

8 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A, footnote 1 corrected, minor typographical changes

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361:20021579

We report the discovery of a quasar at z=3.050+/-0.003, closely coincident in redshift with the isolated low-opacity feature seen near z~3.056 in the otherwise black portion of the HeII Gunn-Peterson absorption trough seen toward the z=3.286 background quasar Q0302-003, located 6.5' away on the sky. We explore plausible models for the HeIII ionization zone created by this neighboring quasar and its interception with the line of sight toward Q0302-003. At its present brightness of V=20.5 and separation of D=3.2 Mpc, the quasar can readily account for the opacity gap in the HeII absorption spectrum of Q0302-003, provided it has been active for t_Q > 10^7 y. This is the first clear detection of the `transverse' proximity effect and imprint of a quasar on the intervening absorption detected along an adjacent line of sight.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003 does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Caught in the act: a helium-reionizing quasar near the line of sight to Q0302-003 will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-589980