The most distant radio quasars at the highest resolution

TL;DR

This study presents high-resolution VLBI observations of the most distant known radio quasar, J1429+5447 at z=6.21, revealing structural similarities with other high-redshift quasars and exploring the universality of their radio properties.

Contribution

First high-resolution VLBI imaging of the most distant radio quasar, J1429+5447, showing its structural similarity to other high-redshift quasars and suggesting a possible universal feature.

Findings

J1429+5447 has a compact steep-spectrum radio emission.

Its structural properties are similar to other z~6 radio quasars.

The results imply potential universality of radio features in distant quasars.

Abstract

There are about 50 quasars known at redshifts z>5.7 to date. Only three of them are detected in the radio (J0836+0054, z=5.77; J1427+3312, z=6.12; J1429+5447, z=6.21). The highest-redshift quasars are in the forefront of current astrophysical and cosmological research since they provide important constraints on the growth of the earliest supermassive black holes in the Universe, and on the physical conditions in their environment. These sources are indeed associated with active galactic nuclei as revealed by high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations. It is still unclear whether the physical properties of the few z~6 radio quasars are in general similar to those of their lower-redshift cousins. In the case of J1427+3312, the 100-pc scale double morphology suggests a young radio source. Here we report on the recent European VLBI Network (EVN) imaging observations of J1429+5447, the most distant radio quasar known. Based on its milli-arcsecond-scale structural and spectral properties, this quasar is similar to J0836+0054 and J1427+3312. This raises the question if the compact steep-spectrum radio emission is a "universal" feature of the most distant radio quasars. It could only be answered after many more objects at z>6 are discovered and studied.