A luminous quasar at a redshift of z=7.085

Daniel J. Mortlock; Stephen J. Warren; Bram P. Venemans; Mitesh Patel; Paul C. Hewett; Richard G. McMahon; Chris Simpson; Tom Theuns; Eduardo A. Gonzales-Solares; Andy Adamson; Simon Dye; Nigel C. Hambly; Paul Hirst; Mike J. Irwin; Ernst Kuiper; Andy Lawrence; Huub J. A. Rottgering

doi:10.1038/nature10159

A luminous quasar at a redshift of z=7.085

Daniel J. Mortlock, Stephen J. Warren, Bram P. Venemans, Mitesh Patel, Paul C. Hewett, Richard G. McMahon, Chris Simpson, Tom Theuns, Eduardo A. Gonzales-Solares, Andy Adamson, Simon Dye, Nigel C. Hambly, Paul Hirst, Mike J. Irwin, Ernst Kuiper, Andy Lawrence, Huub J. A. Rottgering

School of Physics and Astronomy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The intergalactic medium was not completely reionized until approximately a billion years after the Big Bang, as revealed(1) by observations of quasars with redshifts of less than 6.5. It has been difficult to probe to higher redshifts, however, because quasars have historically been identified(2-4) in optical surveys, which are insensitive to sources at redshifts exceeding 6.5. Here we report observations of a quasar (ULASJ112001.48+064124.3) at a redshift of 7.085, which is 0.77 billion years after the Big Bang. ULASJ1120+0641 has a luminosity of 6.3 x 10(13)L(circle dot) and hosts a black hole with a mass of 2 x 10(9)M(circle dot) (where L-circle dot and M-circle dot are the luminosity and mass of the Sun). The measured radius of the ionized near zone around ULASJ1120+0641 is 1.9 megaparsecs, a factor of three smaller than is typical for quasars at redshifts between 6.0 and 6.4. The near-zone transmission profile is consistent with a Ly alpha d damping wing(5), suggesting that the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium in front of ULASJ1120+0641 exceeded 0.1.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	616-619
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature
Volume	474
Issue number	7353
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10159
Publication status	Published - 30 Jun 2011

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Astronomy
Physics

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10.1038/nature10159

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011Natur.474..616M

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@article{f2293ac541c24ba690492c90645c960e,

title = "A luminous quasar at a redshift of z=7.085",

abstract = "The intergalactic medium was not completely reionized until approximately a billion years after the Big Bang, as revealed(1) by observations of quasars with redshifts of less than 6.5. It has been difficult to probe to higher redshifts, however, because quasars have historically been identified(2-4) in optical surveys, which are insensitive to sources at redshifts exceeding 6.5. Here we report observations of a quasar (ULASJ112001.48+064124.3) at a redshift of 7.085, which is 0.77 billion years after the Big Bang. ULASJ1120+0641 has a luminosity of 6.3 x 10(13)L(circle dot) and hosts a black hole with a mass of 2 x 10(9)M(circle dot) (where L-circle dot and M-circle dot are the luminosity and mass of the Sun). The measured radius of the ionized near zone around ULASJ1120+0641 is 1.9 megaparsecs, a factor of three smaller than is typical for quasars at redshifts between 6.0 and 6.4. The near-zone transmission profile is consistent with a Ly alpha d damping wing(5), suggesting that the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium in front of ULASJ1120+0641 exceeded 0.1.",

keywords = "Astronomy, Physics",

author = "Mortlock, {Daniel J.} and Warren, {Stephen J.} and Venemans, {Bram P.} and Mitesh Patel and Hewett, {Paul C.} and McMahon, {Richard G.} and Chris Simpson and Tom Theuns and Gonzales-Solares, {Eduardo A.} and Andy Adamson and Simon Dye and Hambly, {Nigel C.} and Paul Hirst and Irwin, {Mike J.} and Ernst Kuiper and Andy Lawrence and Rottgering, {Huub J. A.}",

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doi = "10.1038/nature10159",

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T1 - A luminous quasar at a redshift of z=7.085

AU - Mortlock, Daniel J.

AU - Warren, Stephen J.

AU - Venemans, Bram P.

AU - Patel, Mitesh

AU - Hewett, Paul C.

AU - McMahon, Richard G.

AU - Simpson, Chris

AU - Theuns, Tom

AU - Gonzales-Solares, Eduardo A.

AU - Adamson, Andy

AU - Dye, Simon

AU - Hambly, Nigel C.

AU - Hirst, Paul

AU - Irwin, Mike J.

AU - Kuiper, Ernst

AU - Lawrence, Andy

AU - Rottgering, Huub J. A.

PY - 2011/6/30

Y1 - 2011/6/30

N2 - The intergalactic medium was not completely reionized until approximately a billion years after the Big Bang, as revealed(1) by observations of quasars with redshifts of less than 6.5. It has been difficult to probe to higher redshifts, however, because quasars have historically been identified(2-4) in optical surveys, which are insensitive to sources at redshifts exceeding 6.5. Here we report observations of a quasar (ULASJ112001.48+064124.3) at a redshift of 7.085, which is 0.77 billion years after the Big Bang. ULASJ1120+0641 has a luminosity of 6.3 x 10(13)L(circle dot) and hosts a black hole with a mass of 2 x 10(9)M(circle dot) (where L-circle dot and M-circle dot are the luminosity and mass of the Sun). The measured radius of the ionized near zone around ULASJ1120+0641 is 1.9 megaparsecs, a factor of three smaller than is typical for quasars at redshifts between 6.0 and 6.4. The near-zone transmission profile is consistent with a Ly alpha d damping wing(5), suggesting that the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium in front of ULASJ1120+0641 exceeded 0.1.

AB - The intergalactic medium was not completely reionized until approximately a billion years after the Big Bang, as revealed(1) by observations of quasars with redshifts of less than 6.5. It has been difficult to probe to higher redshifts, however, because quasars have historically been identified(2-4) in optical surveys, which are insensitive to sources at redshifts exceeding 6.5. Here we report observations of a quasar (ULASJ112001.48+064124.3) at a redshift of 7.085, which is 0.77 billion years after the Big Bang. ULASJ1120+0641 has a luminosity of 6.3 x 10(13)L(circle dot) and hosts a black hole with a mass of 2 x 10(9)M(circle dot) (where L-circle dot and M-circle dot are the luminosity and mass of the Sun). The measured radius of the ionized near zone around ULASJ1120+0641 is 1.9 megaparsecs, a factor of three smaller than is typical for quasars at redshifts between 6.0 and 6.4. The near-zone transmission profile is consistent with a Ly alpha d damping wing(5), suggesting that the neutral fraction of the intergalactic medium in front of ULASJ1120+0641 exceeded 0.1.

KW - Astronomy

KW - Physics

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U2 - 10.1038/nature10159

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M3 - Article

SN - 0028-0836

VL - 474

SP - 616

EP - 619

JO - Nature

JF - Nature

IS - 7353

ER -

A luminous quasar at a redshift of z=7.085

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