A survey for redshifted molecular and atomic absorption lines - II. Associated HI, OH and millimetre lines in the z >~ 3 Parkes quarter-Jansky flat-spectrum sample

TL;DR

This survey investigates high-redshift radio quasars for HI and molecular absorption, revealing a strong correlation between ultra-violet luminosity and the non-detection of 21-cm lines, challenging simple orientation-based models.

Contribution

It provides new observational data on high-redshift absorption lines and explores the impact of ultra-violet luminosity on detection rates, suggesting luminosity influences absorption beyond orientation effects.

Findings

Detection rate drops at z>2.5 and high UV luminosities.

No 21-cm absorption detected at UV luminosities >10^23 W/Hz.

Detection likelihood is about 50% below this luminosity threshold.

Abstract

We present the results of a z>2.9 survey for HI 21-cm and molecular absorption in the hosts of radio quasars using the GMRT and the Tidbinbilla 70-m telescope. Previously published searches, which are overwhelmingly at redshifts of z<1, exhibit a 42% detection rate (31 out of 73 sources), and the inclusion of our survey yields a 17% detection rate (2 out of 12 sources) at z>2.5. We therefore believe that our high redshift selection is responsible for our exclusive non-detections, and find that at ultra-violet luminosities of >10e23 W/Hz, 21-cm absorption has never been detected. We also find this to not only apply to our targets, but also those at low redshift exhibiting similar luminosities, giving zero detections out of a total of 16 sources over z=0.24 to 3.8. This is in contrast to the < 10e23 W/Hz sources where there is a near 50% detection rate of 21-cm absorption. The mix of 21-cm detections and non-detections is currently attributed to orientation effects, where according to unified schemes of active galactic nuclei, 21-cm absorption is more likely to occur in sources designated as radio galaxies (type-2 objects, where the nucleus is viewed through dense obscuring circumnuclear gas) than in quasars(type-1 objects, where we have a direct view to the nucleus). However, due to the exclusively high ultra-violet luminosities of our targets it is not clear whether orientation effects alone can wholly account for the distribution, although there exists the possibility that the large luminosities are indicative of a changing demographic of galaxy types. We also find that below luminosities of ~10e23 W/Hz, both type-1 and type-2 objects have a 50% likelihood of exhibiting 21-cm absorption.