SUPER VI. A giant molecular halo around a z similar to 2 quasar
Journal article, 2021
We present the discovery of copious molecular gas in the halo of cid_346, a z=2.2 quasar studied as part of the SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER). New Atacama Compact Array (ACA) CO(3-2) observations detect a much higher flux (by a factor of 14 +/- 5) than measured on kiloparsec scales (r less than or similar to 8 kpc) using previous snapshot Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array data. Such additional CO(3-2) emission traces a structure that extends out to r similar to 200 kpc in projected size, as inferred through direct imaging and confirmed by an analysis of the uv visibilities. This is the most extended molecular circumgalactic medium (CGM) reservoir that has ever been mapped. It shows complex kinematics, with an overall broad line profile (FWHM=1000 km s(-1)) that is skewed towards redshifted velocities up to at least v similar to 1000 km s(-1). Using the optically thin assumption, we estimate a strict lower limit for the total molecular CGM mass observed by ACA of M-mol(CGM) > 10(10) M-circle dot. There is however room for up to M-mol(CGM) similar to 1.7 x 10(12) M-circle dot, once optically thick CO emission with alpha(CO) = 3.6 M-circle dot (K km s(-1) pc(2))(-1) and LCO(3- 2)'/LCO(1-0)' = 0.5 are assumed. Since cid_346 hosts quasar-driven ionised outflows and since there is no evidence of merging companions or an overdensity, we suggest that outflows may have played a crucial rule in seeding metal-enriched, dense gas on halo scales. However, the origin of such an extended molecular CGM remains unclear.
galaxies: high-redshift
galaxies: active
quasars: individual: cid_346
intergalactic medium
galaxies: halos
submillimeter: galaxies
Author
C. Cicone
University of Oslo
V Mainieri
European Southern Observatory Santiago
C. Circosta
University College London (UCL)
D. Kakkad
University of Oxford
European Southern Observatory Santiago
G. Vietri
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
M. Perna
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
M. Bischetti
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Carniani
Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa
G. Cresci
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
C. Harrison
Newcastle University
F. Mannucci
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Marconi
University of Florence
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
E. Piconcelli
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Puglisi
Durham University
Jan Scholtz
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
C. Vignali
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
University of Bologna
G. Zamorani
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
L. Zappacosta
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
F. Arrigoni Battaia
Max Planck Society
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 654 L8Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
Geophysics
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202141611