The WISSH quasars project - VIII. Outflows and metals in the circum-galactic 
medium around the hyper-luminous z  ∼  3.6 quasar J1538+08

Travascio, A.; Zappacosta, L.; Cantalupo, S.; Piconcelli, E.; Arrigoni Battaia, F.; Ginolfi, M.; Bischetti, M.; Vietri, G.; Bongiorno, A.; D’Odorico, V.; Duras, F.; Feruglio, C.; Vignali, C.; Fiore, F.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936197

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The WISSH quasars project - VIII. Outflows and metals in the circum-galactic medium around the hyper-luminous z ∼ 3.6 quasar J1538+08

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Arrigoni Battaia, F.
Galaxy Formation, Cosmology, MPI for Astrophysics, Max Planck Society;

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Citation

Travascio, A., Zappacosta, L., Cantalupo, S., Piconcelli, E., Arrigoni Battaia, F., Ginolfi, M., et al. (2020). The WISSH quasars project - VIII. Outflows and metals in the circum-galactic medium around the hyper-luminous z ∼ 3.6 quasar J1538+08. Astronomy and Astrophysics, 635: A157. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936197.

Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0006-8FD9-5

Abstract

Context. In recent years, Lyα nebulae have been routinely detected around high redshift, radio-quiet quasars thanks to the advent of the highly sensitive integral field spectrographs. Constraining the physical properties of the Lyα nebulae is crucial for a full understanding of the circum-galactic medium (CGM). The CGM acts both as a repository for intergalactic and galactic baryons as well as a venue of feeding and feedback processes. The most luminous quasars are privileged test-beds to study these processes, given their large ionising fluxes and dense CGM environments in which they are expected to be embedded.
Aims. We aim to characterise the rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) emission lines in the CGM around a hyper-luminous, broad emission line, radio-quiet quasar at z ∼ 3.6, which exhibits powerful outflows at both nuclear and host galaxy scales.
Methods. We analyse VLT/MUSE observations of the quasar J1538+08 (L_bol = 6 × 10⁴⁷ erg s⁻¹), and we performed a search for extended UV emission lines to characterise its morphology, emissivity, kinematics, and metal content.
Results. We report the discovery of a very luminous (∼2 × 10⁴⁴ erg s⁻¹), giant Lyα nebula and a likely associated extended (75 kpc) CIV nebula. The Lyα nebula emission exhibits moderate blueshift (∼440 km s⁻¹) compared to the quasar systemic redshift and a large average velocity dispersion (σ¯_v ∼ 700 km s⁻¹) across the nebula, while the CIV nebula shows average velocity dispersion of σ¯_v ∼ 350 km s⁻¹. The Lyα line profile exhibits a significant asymmetry towards negative velocity values at 20−30 kpc south of the quasar and is well parametrised by the following two Gaussian components: a narrow (σ ∼ 470 km s⁻¹) systemic one plus a broad (σ ∼ 1200 km s⁻¹), blueshifted (∼1500 km s⁻¹) one.
Conclusions. Our analysis of the MUSE observation of J1538+08 reveals metal-enriched CGM around this hyper-luminous quasar. Furthermore, our detection of blueshifted emission in the emission profile of the Lyα nebula suggests that powerful nuclear outflows can propagate through the CGM over tens of kiloparsecs.