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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2025
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| Accesso online: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09753 |
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| author | Ďurovčíková, Dominika Eilers, Anna-Christina Ishikawa, Yuzo Yue, Minghao Vestergaard, Marianne Davies, Frederick B. Schindler, Jan-Torge Fan, Xiaohui Battaia, Fabrizio Arrigoni Volonteri, Marta Simcoe, Robert A. Hennawi, Joseph F. Blecha, Laura Andika, Irham T. Bosman, Sarah E. I. Bieri, Rebekka |
| author_facet | Ďurovčíková, Dominika Eilers, Anna-Christina Ishikawa, Yuzo Yue, Minghao Vestergaard, Marianne Davies, Frederick B. Schindler, Jan-Torge Fan, Xiaohui Battaia, Fabrizio Arrigoni Volonteri, Marta Simcoe, Robert A. Hennawi, Joseph F. Blecha, Laura Andika, Irham T. Bosman, Sarah E. I. Bieri, Rebekka |
| contents | Measurements of quasar lifetimes at high redshift indicate that the earliest billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have only been active as luminous quasars for less than a million years. Recently, extended Ly$α$ nebulae around $z\sim6$ quasars have revealed that these short observed lifetimes are unlikely a sightline-dependent effect. However, the interpretation of Ly$α$ emission is not straightforward due to its resonant nature. In this work, we use rest-frame optical emission lines, which more directly trace photoionization by the quasar, to unambiguously validate the short line-of-sight quasar lifetimes observed at early cosmic epochs. We use deep James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec IFU observations of five $z\sim 6$ quasars with small proximity zones to search for their extended emission line nebulae in H$α$ and [O III]$5007$, and detect extended emission in both emission lines around four quasars in our sample. We then use the light-crossing time of these nebulae to measure quasar lifetimes along transverse sightlines. Using their H$α$ nebulae, we also confirm that recombination is likely the dominant emission mechanism behind their previously detected Ly$α$ nebulae. Our results confirm the existence of high-redshift quasars with extremely short lifetimes, $t_{\rm Q} \lesssim 10^{5}\ {\rm yr}$, hosting billion-solar-mass black holes, indicating that rapid accretion is likely responsible for the assembly of SMBHs in the early Universe. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_09753 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | BEES: Quasar lifetime measurements from extended rest-optical emission line nebulae at $z\sim6$ Ďurovčíková, Dominika Eilers, Anna-Christina Ishikawa, Yuzo Yue, Minghao Vestergaard, Marianne Davies, Frederick B. Schindler, Jan-Torge Fan, Xiaohui Battaia, Fabrizio Arrigoni Volonteri, Marta Simcoe, Robert A. Hennawi, Joseph F. Blecha, Laura Andika, Irham T. Bosman, Sarah E. I. Bieri, Rebekka Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics Measurements of quasar lifetimes at high redshift indicate that the earliest billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have only been active as luminous quasars for less than a million years. Recently, extended Ly$α$ nebulae around $z\sim6$ quasars have revealed that these short observed lifetimes are unlikely a sightline-dependent effect. However, the interpretation of Ly$α$ emission is not straightforward due to its resonant nature. In this work, we use rest-frame optical emission lines, which more directly trace photoionization by the quasar, to unambiguously validate the short line-of-sight quasar lifetimes observed at early cosmic epochs. We use deep James Webb Space Telescope/NIRSpec IFU observations of five $z\sim 6$ quasars with small proximity zones to search for their extended emission line nebulae in H$α$ and [O III]$5007$, and detect extended emission in both emission lines around four quasars in our sample. We then use the light-crossing time of these nebulae to measure quasar lifetimes along transverse sightlines. Using their H$α$ nebulae, we also confirm that recombination is likely the dominant emission mechanism behind their previously detected Ly$α$ nebulae. Our results confirm the existence of high-redshift quasars with extremely short lifetimes, $t_{\rm Q} \lesssim 10^{5}\ {\rm yr}$, hosting billion-solar-mass black holes, indicating that rapid accretion is likely responsible for the assembly of SMBHs in the early Universe. |
| title | BEES: Quasar lifetime measurements from extended rest-optical emission line nebulae at $z\sim6$ |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.09753 |