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Discovery of a 12 billion solar mass black hole at redshift 6.3 and its challenge to the black hole/galaxy coevolution at cosmic dawn

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2016

Xue-Bing Wu ,
Feige Wang ,
Xiaohui Fan ,
Weimin Yi ,
Wenwen Zuo ,
Fuyan Bian ,
Linhua Jiang ,
Ian D. McGreer ,
Ran Wang  and
Jinyi Yang
...Show all authors
Xue-Bing Wu
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China email: [email protected] Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Feige Wang
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China email: [email protected]
Xiaohui Fan
Affiliation:
Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Weimin Yi
Affiliation:
Yunnan Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China
Wenwen Zuo
Affiliation:
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Fuyan Bian
Affiliation:
Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australia National University, Weston Creek, ACT, Australia
Linhua Jiang
Affiliation:
Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Ian D. McGreer
Affiliation:
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Ran Wang
Affiliation:
Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Jinyi Yang
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China email: [email protected]
Qian Yang
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China email: [email protected]
David Thompson
Affiliation:
Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
Yuri Beletsky
Affiliation:
Las Campanas Observatory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, La Serena, Chile
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Abstract

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The existence of black holes with masses of about one billion solar masses in quasars at redshifts z > 6 presents significant challenges to theories of the formation and growth of black holes and the black hole/galaxy co-evolution in the early Universe. Here we report a recent discovery of an ultra-luminous quasar at redshift z = 6.30, which has an observed optical and near-infrared luminosity a few times greater than those of previously known z > 6 quasars. With near-infrared spectroscopy, we obtain a black hole mass of about 12 billion solar masses, which is well consistent with the mass derived by assuming an Eddington-limited accretion. This ultra-luminous quasar with at z > 6 provides a unique laboratory to the study of the mass assembly and galaxy formation around the most massive black holes at cosmic dawn. It raises further challenges to the black hole/galaxy co-evolution in the epoch of cosmic reionization because the black hole needs to grow much faster than the host galaxy.

Keywords

black hole physicsgalaxies: activegalaxies: nucleigalaxies: evolutionquasars: generalquasars: emission linesearly universe
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 11 , Symposium S319: Galaxies at High Redshift and Their Evolution Over Cosmic Time , August 2015 , pp. 80 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2016 

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