ALMA and JWST Imaging of $z\ >\ 6$ Quasars: No Spatial Position Offset Observed Between Quasars and Their Host Galaxies

TL;DR

This study uses ALMA and JWST imaging to investigate the spatial relationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies in six quasars at redshift greater than 6, finding no significant offsets and supporting models of rapid black hole-galaxy co-evolution.

Contribution

First detailed multi-wavelength imaging analysis of high-redshift quasars showing no SMBH-host offsets, challenging previous assumptions about quasar-host galaxy dynamics.

Findings

All quasars are within 400 pc of their host galaxy centers.

No evidence of recent mergers in the host galaxies.

Offsets in optical are due to dust obscuration, not physical separation.

Abstract

We present a study determining the spatial offset between the position of the supermassive black hole (as traced through their broad line regions) and the host galaxy in six $z > 6$ quasars. We determined the host galaxy's position from $\lesssim$$0.1^{\prime\prime}$ ($\lesssim$ 600 pc) resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) [CII] 158 $\mu m$ and corresponding dust continuum imaging. We determined the quasar's position from $\lesssim$ 400 pc resolution James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera (JWST NIRCam) imaging. We estimated the observational uncertainties on the quasar's position using astrometric data from the Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics (GAIA) of field stars within the NIRCam images. We find that all six quasars are found within the central $\sim 400$ pc of their host galaxy dust continuum and [CII] emission. Apparent offsets seen in rest-frame optical JWST observations are not detected in our ALMA data, suggesting they likely result from dust obscuration rather than a true physical separation between the SMBH and its host galaxy. Kinematic modeling of these data further reveals that none of the galaxies show evidence for recent merger activity, and most of the galaxies can be accurately modeled using a simple disk model. The lack of an offset supports theoretical models that predict that positional offset within these galaxies are either short-lived or intrinsically rare.