1. A hidden AGN powering bright [O III] nebulae in a protocluster core at $z=4.5$ revealed by JWST
- Author
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Solimano, M., González-López, J., Aravena, M., Pampliega, B. Alcalde, Assef, R. J., Béthermin, M., Boquien, M., Bovino, S., Casey, C. M., Cassata, P., da Cunha, E., Davies, R. L., De Looze, I., Ding, X., Díaz-Santos, T., Faisst, A. L., Ferrara, A., Fisher, D. B., Förster-Schreiber, N. M., Fujimoto, S., Ginolfi, M., Gruppioni, C., Guaita, L., Hathi, N., Herrera-Camus, R., Ibar, E., Inami, H., Jones, G. C., Koekemoer, A. M., Lee, L., Li, J., Liu, D., Liu, Z., Molina, J., Ogle, P., Posses, A. C., Pozzi, F., Relaño, M., Riechers, D. A., Romano, M., Spilker, J., Sulzenauer, N., Telikova, K., Vallini, L., Vasan, K. G. C., Veilleux, S., Vergani, D., Villanueva, V., Wang, W., Yan, L., and Zamorani, G.
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies - Abstract
We present new JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of the J1000+0234 system at $z=4.54$, the dense core of a galaxy protocluster hosting a massive, dusty star forming galaxy (DSFG) with a low luminosity radio counterpart. The new data reveals two extended, high equivalent width (EW$_0 > 1000$ {\AA}) nebulae at each side of the DSFG disk along its minor axis (namely O3-N and O3-S). On one hand, O3-N's spectrum shows a prominent FWHM $\sim1300$ km s$^{-1}$ broad and blueshifted component, suggesting an outflow origin. On the other hand, O3-S stretches over parsec and has a velocity gradient that spans $800$ km s$^{-1}$ but no evidence of a broad component. Both sources, however, seem to be powered at least partially by an active galactic nucleus (AGN), so we classify them as extended emission-line regions (EELRs). The strongest evidence comes from the detection of the high-ionization [Ne V] $\lambda3427$ line toward O3-N, which paired with the non-detection of hard X-rays implies an obscuring column density above the Compton-thick regime. In O3-S, the [Ne V] line is not detected, but we measure a He II well above the expectation for star formation. We interpret this as O3-S being externally irradiated by the AGN, akin to the famous Hanny's Voorwerp object in the local Universe. In addition, more classical line ratio diagnostics (e.g. [O III]/H$\beta$ vs [N II]/H$\alpha$) put the DSFG itself in the AGN region of the diagrams, and hence the most probable host of the AGN. These results showcase the ability of JWST of unveiling highly obscured AGN at high redshifts., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures plus 5 appendices (incl. 3 extra figures and one table). Submitted to A&A on July 17th 2024
- Published
- 2024