An international team of astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to make spectroscopic observations of a bright quasar known as J1007+2115. They detected a rapid outflow from the quasar’s host galaxy.
Quasars or quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are very luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) that emit observable electromagnetic radiation at radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, and X-ray wavelengths.
They are among the brightest and most distant objects in the known Universe and serve as fundamental tools for numerous studies in astrophysics as well as cosmology.
For example, to investigate the large-scale structure of the Universe and the epoch of reionization. They have also improved our understanding of the dynamics of supermassive black holes and the intergalactic medium.
At a redshift of 7.51, J1007+2115 is the highest redshift known to date.
The brightest and most distant objects in the Universe
Previous observations of J1007+2115 have shown that the host galaxy has abundant molecular gas and dust, with masses on the order of 22 and 0.17 billion solar masses. In addition, this galaxy is experiencing rapid star formation, with its star formation rate estimated at 80-250 solar masses per year.
Now, a group of astronomers led by Weizhe Liu of the Steward Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, reports new findings about J1007+2115’s host.
Using the NIRSpec integral field unit on board Webb, they identified extensive emission of doubly ionized oxygen (O III).
Active galactic nuclei
This emission is highly blueshifted and broad and extends to about 6,500 light-years
Further analysis showed that the emission most likely follows a rapid outflow into the host galaxy of this quasar. Therefore, taking into account the quasar’s high redshift, this is the earliest currently known galactic-scale outflow.
The study found that the outflow has a high velocity of about 2,100 km/s, suggesting that it can easily escape from the host galaxy. The mass outflow rate was calculated at a level of 300 solar masses per year, while the mean dynamical time scale of the outflow was estimated to be about 1.7 million years.
