New quasar proximity zone size measurements at z ∼ 6 using the enlarged XQR-30 sample

Author:

Satyavolu Sindhu1ORCID,Eilers Anna-Christina2ORCID,Kulkarni Girish1ORCID,Ryan-Weber Emma34,Davies Rebecca L34,Becker George D5,Bosman Sarah E I67ORCID,Greig Bradley48ORCID,Mazzucchelli Chiara9ORCID,Bañados Eduardo6ORCID,Bischetti Manuela1011,D’Odorico Valentina101112ORCID,Fan Xiaohui13,Farina Emanuele Paolo14ORCID,Haehnelt Martin G1516,Keating Laura C17ORCID,Lai Samuel18ORCID,Walter Fabian6

Affiliation:

1. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research , Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400005, India

2. MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA

3. Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology , Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia

4. ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia

5. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California , Riverside, CA 92521, USA

6. Max Planck Institute for Astronomy , Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany

7. Institute for Theoretical Physics, Heidelberg University , Philosophenweg 12, D-69120, Heidelberg, Germany

8. School of Physics, University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia

9. Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales , Avenida Ejercito Libertador 441, Santiago, Chile

10. INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste , Via Tiepolo 11, I-34143 Trieste, Italy

11. IFPU-Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe , via Beirut 2, I-34151 Trieste, Italy

12. Scuola Normale Superiore , Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa, Italy

13. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , 933 N Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA

14. Gemini Observatory , NSF’s NOIRLab, 670 N A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA

15. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK

16. Kavli Institute of Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK

17. Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK

18. Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University , Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Proximity zones of high-redshift quasars are unique probes of their central supermassive black holes as well as the intergalactic medium (IGM) in the last stages of reionization. We present 22 new measurements of proximity zones of quasars with redshifts between 5.8 and 6.6, using the enlarged XQR-30 sample of high-resolution, high-SNR quasar spectra. The quasars in our sample have ultraviolet magnitudes of M1450 ∼ −27 and black hole masses of 109–1010 M⊙. Our inferred proximity zone sizes are 2–7 physical Mpc, with a typical uncertainty of less than 0.5 physical Mpc, which, for the first time, also includes uncertainty in the quasar continuum. We find that the correlation between proximity zone sizes and the quasar redshift, luminosity, or black hole mass, indicates a large diversity of quasar lifetimes. Two of our proximity zone sizes are exceptionally small. The spectrum of one of these quasars, with z  = 6.02, displays, unusually for this redshift, damping wing absorption without any detectable metal lines, which could potentially originate from the IGM. The other quasar has a high-ionization absorber ∼0.5 pMpc from the edge of the proximity zone. This work increases the number of proximity zone measurements available in the last stages of cosmic reionization to 87. This data will lead to better constraints on quasar lifetimes and obscuration fractions at high redshift, that in turn will help probe the seed mass and formation redshift of supermassive black holes.

Funder

Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India

Swiss National Supercomputing Centre

European Southern Observatory

European Research Council

Science and Technology Facilities Council

National Science Foundation

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics

Cited by 7 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Supermassive black holes are growing slowly by z∼5;Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society;2024-05-20

2. The effect of reionization on direct measurements of the mean free path;Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society;2024-05-06

3. IGM damping wing constraints on the tail end of reionization from the enlarged XQR-30 sample;Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society;2024-04-23

4. Evidence for episodic black hole growth of reionization-era quasars observed with Magellan/FIRE;Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society;2024-02-20

5. The characteristic shape of damping wings during reionization;Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters;2023-11-13

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