Constraints on Hyperluminous QSO Lifetimes via Fluorescent Lya Emitters at Z~2.7

TL;DR

This study uses fluorescent Lyα emitters near hyperluminous QSOs at z~2.7 to constrain QSO lifetimes and emission geometry, revealing most QSOs have been active for 1-20 Myr with a broad emission opening angle.

Contribution

It provides new constraints on QSO lifetimes and emission geometry by analyzing fluorescent Lyα emitters at high redshift, combining observational data and radiative modeling.

Findings

Most QSOs have been active for 1-20 Myr.

QSO emission has an opening angle of ~30 degrees or larger.

The fluorescent Lyα emitters trace the QSO radiation history.

Abstract

We present observations of a population of Lya emitters (LAEs) exhibiting fluorescent emission via the reprocessing of ionizing radiation from nearby hyperluminous QSOs. These LAEs are part of a survey at redshifts 2.5 < z < 2.9 combining narrow-band photometric selection and spectroscopic follow-up to characterize the emission mechanisms, physical properties, and three-dimensional locations of the emitters with respect to their nearby hyperluminous QSOs. These data allow us to probe the radiation field, and thus the radiative history, of the QSOs, and we determine that most of the 8 QSOs in our sample have been active and of comparable luminosity for a time 1 Myr < t_Q < 20 Myr. Furthermore, we find that the ionizing QSO emission must have an opening angle theta ~ 30 deg or larger relative to the line of sight.