ALMA resolves the stellar birth explosion in distant quasar 3C298

TL;DR

This paper presents high-resolution ALMA observations revealing an extreme, asymmetric circumnuclear starburst in the distant quasar 3C298, indicating a close relationship between star formation and black hole activity in early galaxies.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed imaging evidence of a starburst structure directly associated with a high-redshift quasar, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between star formation and AGN activity.

Findings

Detection of asymmetric circumnuclear dust structure in 3C298

Evidence of an extreme starburst in a distant quasar

Implication of a common symbiotic relationship in massive early galaxies

Abstract

Galaxies are believed to experience star formation and black hole driven nuclear activity symbiotically. The symbiosis may be more extreme in the distant universe, as far-infrared photometry with the Herschel Space Observatory has found many cases of ultra-luminous cool dust emission in z>1 radio galaxies and quasars, which could have its origin in the central black hole activity, or in extreme starbursts. We here present strong evidence for an extreme circumnuclear starburst in the z=1.439 quasar 3C298. Our unparalleled 0.18 arcsecond resolution ALMA image at rest-frame 410micrometer wavelength shows that the ~40K dust in its host galaxy resides in an asymmetric circumnuclear structure. The morphology of this structure implies a starburst origin and a symbiotic physical relation with the AGN driven radio source. The symbiosis is likely to be a general property of distant massive galaxies.