Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007aas...21115601d&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #211, #156.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.1008
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We are investigating for a sample of about 30 high-redshift quasars, with redshifts up to z=6, the gas chemical metallicity based on emission line ratios and employing the FeII UV/MgII line ratio, we probe the differential metal enrichment timescale between iron and alpha-elements at these early epochs. The quasars show enhanced solar metallicities ( 5 times solar) in their broad emission-line region and no indication of a metallicity evolution up to redshifts z=6. The measured FeII UV/MgII ratios range from 3 to 5, typical for high redshift quasars, with a weighted mean of about 4. However, there is a weak tendency for a lower mean ratio at z>4.7. For the first time, we will compare the gas metallicity and the FeII UV/MgII ratio for high redshift quasars. In concert, the gas metallicity, the FeII UV/MgII ratio, and model-based estimated time scales for enriching the gas and building up the super-massive black holes suggest that a violent episode of star formation and the main growth of the black hole occur roughly contemporaneously beginning at redshifts z = 8 to 13.
Support for this work was provided by NASA through grant HST-GO-10792 from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
Dietrich Matthias
Peterson Bradley. M.
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