quasar SDSS J0100+2802

quasar SDSS J0100+2802 is an exceptionally luminous and distant quasar discovered in data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. It holds the record for the most luminous quasar known in the early universe, shining with the light of over 400 trillion Suns. This hyperluminous object provides a unique laboratory for studying the rapid growth of supermassive black holes and the conditions of the intergalactic medium less than a billion years after the Big Bang.

Discovery and observation

The object was identified within the extensive spectroscopic database of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, specifically from its Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey component. Follow-up observations were conducted using several major ground-based telescopes, including the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii and Chile. These observations, led by astronomers from institutions like the University of Arizona and Peking University, confirmed its extraordinary properties. Further studies have utilized instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope to analyze its host galaxy and the surrounding cosmic dawn environment.

Physical characteristics

The defining feature is its immense luminosity, powered by accretion onto a central supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of approximately 12 billion solar masses. This places it among the most massive black holes ever measured. The accretion disk surrounding the black hole is extraordinarily energetic, emitting vast amounts of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays to radio waves. The object's extreme brightness allows for detailed spectroscopic analysis of its broad-line region, providing insights into the dynamics of gas moving at velocities exceeding thousands of kilometers per second.

Distance and redshift

It is located at a redshift of z = 6.30, corresponding to a time when the universe was only about 900 million years old, or roughly 6% of its current age. This distance is measured through the characteristic Lyman-alpha absorption line in its spectrum, which is redshifted into the near-infrared part of the spectrum due to the expansion of the universe. The light observed today has traveled for approximately 12.8 billion light-years, making it a crucial probe of the reionization epoch, a period when the first stars and galaxies were ionizing the neutral hydrogen filling the cosmos.

Scientific significance

Its existence challenges models of early supermassive black hole growth, as forming such a massive object so quickly after the Big Bang is theoretically difficult. It provides a stringent test for theories of black hole formation and super-Eddington accretion. Furthermore, its intense radiation acts as a backlight, illuminating the intergalactic medium and allowing astronomers to study the distribution of neutral hydrogen and heavy elements like carbon and iron in the early universe. Studies of this quasar contribute to our understanding of the coevolution of galaxies and their central black holes during the cosmic dawn.

Host galaxy and environment

Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array have been used to study its host galaxy. Despite the glare from the brilliant quasar, evidence suggests it resides within a massive, gas-rich galaxy that is actively forming stars. The environment around this quasar is of great interest, as it may be part of an early protocluster of galaxies, a precursor to modern massive structures like the Coma Cluster. The interaction between the quasar's powerful jets and radiation and its host galaxy's gas is a key area of research in understanding feedback processes that regulate star formation.

Category:Quasars Category:Sloan Digital Sky Survey Category:Astronomical objects discovered in 2015