Scientific article
OA Policy
English

Physical Constraints on the Extended Interstellar Medium of the z = 6.42 Quasar J1148+5251: [C ii]158 μm , [N ii]205 μm , and [O i]146 μm Observations

Published inThe Astrophysical journal, vol. 927, no. 2, 152
Publication date2022-03-01
First online date2022-03-11
Abstract

We report new Northern Extended Millimeter Array observations of the [C ii ] 158 μ m , [N ii ] 205 μ m , and [O i ] 146 μ m atomic fine structure lines (FSLs) and dust continuum emission of J1148+5251, a z = 6.42 quasar, which probe the physical properties of its interstellar medium (ISM). The radially averaged [C ii ] 158 μ m and dust continuum emission have similar extensions (up to θ = 2.51 − 0.25 + 0.46 arcsec , corresponding to r = 9.8 − 2.1 + 3.3 kpc , accounting for beam convolution), confirming that J1148+5251 is the quasar with the largest [C ii ] 158 μ m -emitting reservoir known at these epochs. Moreover, if the [C ii ] 158 μ m emission is examined only along its NE–SW axis, a significant excess (>5.8 σ ) of [C ii ] 158 μ m emission (with respect to the dust) is detected. The new wide-bandwidth observations enable us to accurately constrain the continuum emission, and do not statistically require the presence of broad [C ii ] 158 μ m line wings that were reported in previous studies. We also report the first detection of the [O i ] 146 μ m and (tentatively) [N ii ] 205 μ m emission lines in J1148+5251. Using FSL ratios of the [C ii ] 158 μ m , [N ii ] 205 μ m , [O i ] 146 μ m , and previously measured [C i ] 369 μ m emission lines, we show that J1148+5251 has similar ISM conditions compared to lower-redshift (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies. CLOUDY modeling of the FSL ratios excludes X-ray-dominated regions and favors photodissociation regions as the origin of the FSL emission. We find that a high radiation field (10 3.5–4.5 G 0 ), a high gas density ( n ≃ 10 3.5–4.5 cm −3 ), and an H i column density of 10 23 cm −2 reproduce the observed FSL ratios well.

Affiliation entities Not a UNIGE publication
Funding
  • European Commission - Mapping the Cosmic Gas Supply with ALMA [740246]
Citation (ISO format)
MEYER, Romain et al. Physical Constraints on the Extended Interstellar Medium of the z = 6.42 Quasar J1148+5251: [C ii]158 μm , [N ii]205 μm , and [O i]146 μm Observations. In: The Astrophysical journal, 2022, vol. 927, n° 2, p. 152. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac4e94
Main files (1)
Article (Published version)
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0004-637X
2views
5downloads

Technical informations

Creation27/05/2025 09:48:02
First validation07/07/2026 12:47:04
Update07/07/2026 12:47:04
Status update07/07/2026 12:47:04
Last indexation07/07/2026 12:47:05
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack