The radio core of the Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxy F00183-7111: watching the birth of a quasar

TL;DR

This study presents high-resolution radio imaging of the galaxy F00183-7111, revealing a nascent quasar with jets emerging from a dense starburst environment, illustrating a transitional phase in galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed VLBI image of a galaxy in the process of transitioning from a starburst to a radio-loud quasar, highlighting the early development of quasar jets.

Findings

Detection of a compact radio-loud AGN with 1.7 kpc jets

Evidence of dense gas confining the jets

Observation of a transitional galaxy phase

Abstract

F00183-7111 is one of the most extreme Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies known. Here we present a VLBI image which shows that F00183-7111 is powered by a combination of a radio-loud Active Galactic Nucleus surrounded by vigorous starburst activity. Although already radio-loud, the quasar jets are only 1.7 kpc long, boring through the dense gas and starburst activity that confine them. We appear to be witnessing this remarkable source in the brief transition period between merging starburst and radio-loud "quasar-mode" accretion.