The Strikingly Uniform, Highly Turbulent Interstellar Medium of the Most Luminous Galaxy in the Universe

TL;DR

This study presents ALMA observations of the most luminous galaxy in the universe, revealing a highly turbulent, uniform interstellar medium likely driven by strong feedback processes during early galaxy formation.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved kinematic analysis of the ISM in a hyper-luminous, high-redshift galaxy, highlighting its turbulence and potential feedback-driven gas expulsion.

Findings

The [CII] emission is uniformly broad across the galaxy, indicating high turbulence.

The ISM conditions are similar to the most obscured, compact starbursts and AGN.

The galaxy's gas is likely being expelled isotropically, signaling a transition to an unobscured quasar.

Abstract

Observed at z = 4.601 and with L_bol = 3.5 x 10^14 Lsun, W2246-0526 is the most luminous galaxy known in the Universe, and hosts a deeply-buried active galactic nucleus (AGN)/super-massive black hole (SMBH). Discovered using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), W2246-0526 is classified as a Hot Dust Obscured Galaxy (Hot DOG), based on its luminosity and dust temperature. Here we present spatially resolved ALMA [CII]157.7um observations of W2246-0526, providing unique insight into the kinematics of its interstellar medium (ISM). The measured [CII]-to-far-infrared ratio is ~2 x 10^-4, implying ISM conditions that compare only with the most obscured, compact starbursts and AGN in the local Universe today. The spatially resolved [CII] line is strikingly uniform and very broad, 500-600 km/s wide, extending throughout the entire galaxy over about 2.5 kpc, with modest shear. Such a large, homogeneous velocity dispersion indicates a highly turbulent medium. W2246-0526 is unstable in terms of the energy and momentum that are being injected into the ISM, strongly suggesting that the gas is being blown away from the system isotropically, likely reflecting a cathartic state on its road to becoming an un-obscured quasar. W2246-0526 provides an extraordinary laboratory to study and model the properties and kinematics of gas in an extreme environment under strong feedback, at a time when the Universe was 1/10 of its current age: a system pushing the limits that can be reached during galaxy formation.