A QSO host galaxy and its Lyalpha emission at z=6.43

TL;DR

This paper reports the detection of an extended host galaxy around a high-redshift QSO at z=6.43, revealing a large, star-forming galaxy co-evolving with its supermassive black hole in the early universe.

Contribution

First direct imaging of a QSO host galaxy at z=6.43, combining PSF subtraction and SED modeling to estimate host properties and star formation rate.

Findings

Host galaxy has an absolute magnitude M_{1450}=-23.9.

Estimated star formation rate is at least 1.6 Msun/yr.

Host galaxy's stellar mass ranges from 6.2 x 10^8 to 1.1 x 10^{10} Msun.

Abstract

We report an optical detection of an extended structure around a QSO at z=6.43 (CFHQSJ2329-0301, the highest redshift QSO currently known) in deep z' and z_r-band images of the Subaru/Suprime-Cam. After a careful PSF (QSO) subtraction, a structure in the z'-band extends more than 4'' on the sky (R_e=11 kpc), and thus, is well-resolved (16sigma detection). The PSF-subtracted z_r-band structure is in a similar shape to that in the z'-band, but less significant with a 3 sigma detection. In the z'-band, a radial profile of the QSO+host shows a clear excess over that of the averaged PSF in 0.8-3'' radius. Since the z'-band includes a Lya emission at z=6.43, the z' flux is perhaps a mixture of the host (continuum light) and its Lya emission, whereas the z_r-band flux is from the host. Through a SED modeling, we estimate 40% of the PSF-subtracted z'-band light is from the host (continuum) and 60% is from Lya emission. The absolute magnitude of the host is M_{1450}=-23.9 (c.f. M_{1450}=-26.4 for the QSO). A lower limit of the SFR(Lya) is 1.6 Msun yr^{-1} with stellar mass ranging 6.2 x 10^8 to 1.1 x 10^10 Msun when 100 Myrs of age is assumed. The detection shows that a luminous QSO is already harbored by a large, star-forming galaxy in the early Universe only after ~840 Myr after the big bang. The host may be a forming giant galaxy, co-evolving with a super massive black hole.