A resolved view of z>6 quasar host galaxies

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• Romain Meyer (Heidelberg)
• Friday 21 October 2022, 11:30-12:30
• in person & via zoom .

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Sandro Tacchella.

Observations of z>6 luminous quasars in the FIR regime probe the first steps of the galaxy-SMBH coevolution in the first billion years of the Universe. ALMA /NOEMA studies of luminous z>6 quasars accreting at nearly Eddington rate have shown that they are hosted by massive, highly star-forming galaxies, in agreement with theoretical predictions. However, early studies did not have either the resolution to study the resolved ISM of the host galaxies, nor the multi-frequency information to probe its properties, which is necessary to understand how the rapid growth of the central SMBH . I will present hyper-resolution (_{100-300 pc,} 0.”02-0.”04) ALMA observations of z=6.6-6.9 quasar host galaxies in the [CII] line. These observations reveal surprisingly compact host morphologies both in dust and [CII] emission (0.5-2 kpc), with a substantial fraction (~30%) of their intense star-forming activity and high gas mass concentrated within the inner 200-300 parsecs. The galaxies resolved kinematics come in a wide variety ranging from smooth rotating disks to dispersion-dominated systems and mergers. I will also show recent multi-frequency observations in specific systems, which probe the mechanisms behind the ionisation and temperature state of their ISM . Overall, these new observations showcase the potential of ALMA /NOEMA to study simultaneously the first massive galaxies in the Epoch of Reionisation and their co-evolution with their central SMBH .

This talk is part of the Galaxies Discussion Group series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• Cambridge Astronomy Talks
• Combined External Astrophysics Talks DAMTP
• Cosmology, Astrophysics and General Relativity
• Galaxies Discussion Group
• Institute of Astronomy Talk Lists
• Kavli Institute for Cosmology Talk Lists
• in person & via zoom

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