Cloverleaf quasar

Last updated
Cloverleaf, H1413+117, QSO 1415+1129
Cloverleaf-quasar.jpg
ESO image of the Cloverleaf quasar
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Right ascension 14 h 15 m 46.27 s
Declination +11°  29 ′  43.4 ″
Redshift 2.56
Distance 11 Gly
Apparent magnitude  (V)17
Notable featuresFour-image lens, bright CO emission
Other designations
QSO J1415+1129, QSO B1413+1143, H 1413+117, Clover Leaf Quasar
See also: Quasar, List of quasars

The Cloverleaf quasar (H1413+117, QSO J1415+1129) is a bright, gravitationally lensed quasar discovered by Hazard, Morton, Terlevich and McMahon in 1984. [1] It receives its name because of gravitational lensing spitting the single quasar into four images. [2] Gravitational lensing of the quasar H1413+1011 was discovered in Magain et al. [1] in 1988 discovered that the quasars was split by gravitational lensing by a foreground galaxy into four images gave it the name "Cloverleaf quasar".

Contents

Quasar

Molecular gas (notably CO) detected in the host galaxy associated with the quasar is the oldest molecular material known and provides evidence of large-scale star formation in the early universe. Thanks to the strong magnification provided by the foreground lens, the Cloverleaf is the brightest known source of CO emission at high redshift [3] and was also the first source at a redshift z = 2.56 to be detected with HCN [4] or HCO+ emission. [5] This suggests the quasar is currently undergoing an intense wave of star formations thus increasing its luminosity. [4] A radio jet has also been found on the side of quasar according to a study published in 2023. [6]

CCD image of the Cloverleaf quasar taken in March 1988 by the ESO/MPI 2.2m telescope. The four separated images are part of the quasar. The "cloverleaf" quasar H 1413+117 (eso8806a).jpg
CCD image of the Cloverleaf quasar taken in March 1988 by the ESO/MPI 2.2m telescope. The four separated images are part of the quasar.

The 4 quasar images were originally discovered in 1984; in 1988, they were determined to be a single quasar split into four images, instead of 4 separate quasars. The X-rays from iron atoms were also enhanced relative to X-rays at lower energies. Since the amount of brightening due to gravitational lensing doesn't vary with the wavelength, this means that an additional object has magnified the X-rays. The increased magnification of the X-ray light can be explained by gravitational microlensing, an effect which has been used to search for compact stars and planets in our galaxy. Microlensing occurs when a star or a multiple star system passes in front of light from a background object. If a single star or a multiple star system in one of the foreground galaxies passed in front of the light path for the brightest image, then that image would be selectively magnified. [7]

Black hole

The X-rays would be magnified much more than the visible light if they came from a region around the central supermassive black hole of the lensing galaxy that was smaller than the origin region of the visible light. The enhancement of the X-rays from iron ions would be due to this same effect. The analysis indicates that the X-rays are coming from a very small region, about the size of the Solar System, around the central black hole. The visible light is coming from a region ten or more times larger. The angular size of these regions at a distance of 11 billion light years is tens of thousands times smaller than the smallest region that can be resolved by the Hubble Space Telescope. This provides a way to test models for the flow of gas around a supermassive black hole. [7] Additionally, inner regions of the quasar's accretion disk around the black hole has been detected suggesting outflow wind. [8]

Lensing galaxy and partial Einstein ring

Data from NICMOS and a special algorithm resolved the lensing galaxy and a partial Einstein ring. The Einstein ring represents the host galaxy of the lensed quasar. [9]

History

The Cloverleaf quasar was discovered in 1988. Data on the Cloverleaf collected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory in 2004 were compared with that gathered by optical telescopes. One of the X-ray components (A) in the Cloverleaf is brighter than the others in both optical and X-ray light but was found to be relatively brighter in X-ray than in optical light. The X-rays from iron atoms were also enhanced relative to X-rays at lower energies. [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 C. Hazard; D. C. Morton; R. Terlevich; R. G. McMahon (1984). "Nine new quasi-stellar objects with broad absorption lines". Astrophysical Journal . 282: 33–52. Bibcode:1984ApJ...282...33H. doi:10.1086/162174.
  2. ↑ information@eso.org. "The Cloverleaf quasar". www.eso.org. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  3. ↑ S. Venturini; P. M. Solomon (2003). "The Molecular Disk in the Cloverleaf Quasar". Astrophysical Journal . 590 (2): 740–745. arXiv: astro-ph/0210529 . Bibcode:2003ApJ...590..740V. doi:10.1086/375050. S2CID   761080.
  4. 1 2 P. Solomon; P. Vanden Bout; C. Carilli; M. Guelin (2003). "The Essential Signature of a Massive Starburst in a Distant Quasar". Nature . 426 (6967): 636–638. arXiv: astro-ph/0312436 . Bibcode:2003Natur.426..636S. doi:10.1038/nature02149. PMID   14668856. S2CID   4414417.
  5. ↑ D. A. Riechers; et al. (2006). "First Detection of HCO+ Emission at High Redshift". Astrophysical Journal Letters . 645 (1): L13 –L16. arXiv: astro-ph/0605437 . Bibcode:2006ApJ...645L..13R. doi:10.1086/505908. S2CID   17504751.
  6. ↑ Zhang, Lei; Zhang, Zhi-Yu; Nightingale, James W.; Zou, Ze-Cheng; Cao, Xiaoyue; Tsai, Chao-Wei; Yang, Chentao; Shi, Yong; Wang, Junzhi; Xu, Dandan; Lin, Ling-Rui; Zhou, Jing; Li, Ran (2023-09-01). "Discovery of a radio jet in the Cloverleaf quasar at z = 2.56". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 524 (3): 3671–3682. arXiv: 2212.07027 . Bibcode:2023MNRAS.524.3671Z. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad2069 . ISSN   0035-8711.
  7. 1 2 3 "Chandra :: Photo Album :: Cloverleaf Quasar (a.k.a. H1413+117) :: More Images of the Cloverleaf Quasar". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  8. ↑ Chartas, G.; Eracleous, M.; Dai, X.; Agol, E.; Gallagher, S. (2007-06-01). "Discovery of Probable Relativistic Fe Emission and Absorption in the Cloverleaf Quasar H 1413+117". The Astrophysical Journal. 661 (2): 678–692. arXiv: astro-ph/0702742 . Bibcode:2007ApJ...661..678C. doi:10.1086/516816. ISSN   0004-637X.
  9. ↑ Chantry, Virginie; Magain, Pierre (August 2007). "Deconvolution of HST images of the Cloverleaf gravitational lens : detection of the lensing galaxy and a partial Einstein ring". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 470 (2): 467–473. arXiv: astro-ph/0612094 . Bibcode:2007A&A...470..467C. doi: 10.1051/0004-6361:20066839 . ISSN   0004-6361.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.