Exploring Proto-Galaxies Through Extended Lyman-alpha Emiss ion Around High Redshift QSOs

Details Exploring Proto-Galaxies Through Extended Lyman-alpha Emiss ion Around High Redshift QSOs Exploring Proto-Galaxies Through Extended Lyman-alpha Emiss ion Around High Redshift QSOs

Jun 2002

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002aas...200.9702b&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, 200th AAS Meeting, #97.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 34, p.957

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We have obtained deep long-slit spectroscopy at moderate resolution (R≈ 1500) with Keck/LRIS of the high redshift QSO PC0953+4749 (z≈ 4.5), and have discovered extended Lyman-alpha emission around the QSO. The line emission extends 5arcsec beyond the continuum of the QSO and is spatially asymmetric. This extended line emission has a spectral extent of 1000km/s, much narrower in velocity spread than the broad Lyman-alpha from the QSO itself and slightly offset in redshift. No evidence of continuum is seen for the extended emission line region, suggesting that this recombination line is powered by reprocessed QSO Lyman continuum flux rather than by local star formation. This phenomenon is rare in QSOs which are not radio loud, and this is the first time it has been observed at z>4. The QSO is illuminating the surrounding cold gas of the host galaxy, with the ionizing photons producing Lyman-alpha fluorescence. As suggested by Haiman & Rees (2001 ApJ 556, 87), this ``fuzz" around a distant quasar places strong constraints on galaxy formation and the extended distribution of cold, infalling gas. The HI cloud of the host galaxy is 35kpc in extent (H0=70km/s/Mpc and Ω M=0.3). We have also detected a second, separate galaxy in Lyman-alpha emission 24arcsec away (160kpc projected) at z=4.489, within 200km/s of the redshift of the extended Ly-alpha emission surrounding the QSO.

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