2025ApJ...980L...8G -
Astrophys. J., 980, L8 (2025/February-2)
Monster Radio Jet (>66 kpc) Observed in Quasar at z ∼ 5.
GLOUDEMANS A.J., SWEIJEN F., MORABITO L.K., FARINA E.P., DUNCAN K.J., HARIKANE Y., ROTTGERING H.J.A., SAXENA A. and SCHINDLER J.-T.
Abstract (from CDS):
We present the discovery of a large extended radio jet associated with the extremely radio-loud quasar J1601+3102 at z ∼ 5 from subarcsecond resolution imaging at 144 MHz with the International LOFAR Telescope. These large radio lobes have been argued to remain elusive at z > 4 due to energy losses in the synchrotron emitting plasma as a result of scattering of the strong cosmic microwave background at these high redshifts. Nonetheless, the 0$\mathop{.}\limits^{{\rm{^{\prime} }}{\rm{^{\prime} }}}$3 resolution radio image of J1601+3102 reveals a northern and a southern radio lobe located at 9 and 57 kpc from the optical quasar, respectively. The measured jet size of 66 kpc makes J1601+3102 the largest extended radio jet at z > 4 to date. However, it is expected to have an even larger physical size in reality due to projection effects brought about by the viewing angle. Furthermore, we observe the rest-frame UV spectrum of J1601+3102 with Gemini/GNIRS to examine its black hole properties, which results in a mass of 4.5 × 108M_⊙ _with an Eddington luminosity ratio of 0.45. The black hole mass is relatively low compared to the known high-z quasar population, which suggests that a high black hole mass is not strictly necessary to generate a powerful jet. This discovery of the first ∼100 kpc radio jet at z > 4 shows that these objects exist despite energy losses from inverse Compton scattering and can put invaluable constraints on the formation of the first radio-loud sources in the early Universe.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Radio loud quasars - High-redshift galaxies - Radio jets
Simbad objects:
11
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