A JWST/NIRSpec Integral Field Unit Survey of Luminous Quasars at z ~ 5-6 (Q-IFU): Rest-frame Optical Nuclear Properties and Extended Nebulae
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866912695954964480 |
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| author | Liu, Weizhe Fan, Xiaohui Li, Huan Green, Richard Champagne, Jaclyn B. Jin, Xiangyu Lyu, Jianwei Pudoka, Maria Tee, Wei Leong Wang, Feige Yang, Jinyi Zhu, Yongda Abdessalam, Nayera |
| author_facet | Liu, Weizhe Fan, Xiaohui Li, Huan Green, Richard Champagne, Jaclyn B. Jin, Xiangyu Lyu, Jianwei Pudoka, Maria Tee, Wei Leong Wang, Feige Yang, Jinyi Zhu, Yongda Abdessalam, Nayera |
| contents | It remains debatable how billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form and evolve within the first billion years. We report results from a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU) survey of 27 luminous quasars at $z \sim 5$-$6$, enabling a systematic investigation of their key physical properties and the associated, extended line emission. Our sample hosts SMBHs with $\log(M_{\mathrm{BH}}/M_\odot) \sim 8.6$-$9.7$ and Eddington ratios of $\sim 0.1$-$2.6$ based on H$β$, and the H$β$-based and H$α$-based BH mass are broadly consistent with each other. Our sample may have a slightly smaller median BH mass and larger median Eddington ratio than lower-redshift quasars within the same luminosity range, although the difference could still be explained by statistical uncertainties. They generally follow the empirical correlations between [O III] $λ$5007 equivalent width and bolometric luminosities or Eddington ratios formed by lower-redshift quasars. The majority of them fall within the Eigenvector~1 planes formed by lower-redshift quasars. Nevertheless, a subset of the sample shows enhanced, blueshifted [O III] emission associated with fast outflows. Spatially extended [O III] line emission is detected in 6 objects and shows morphologies and kinematics consistent with merging activities and/or turbulent and clumpy interstellar media (ISM). Tentative evidence of quasar radiative feedback shaping the ISM of a merging companion galaxy is seen in the object with the most extended [O III] emission. Our results provide crucial insight into the rapid growth of SMBHs and the gaseous environments they reside in at z$\sim$5-6. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_06085 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A JWST/NIRSpec Integral Field Unit Survey of Luminous Quasars at z ~ 5-6 (Q-IFU): Rest-frame Optical Nuclear Properties and Extended Nebulae Liu, Weizhe Fan, Xiaohui Li, Huan Green, Richard Champagne, Jaclyn B. Jin, Xiangyu Lyu, Jianwei Pudoka, Maria Tee, Wei Leong Wang, Feige Yang, Jinyi Zhu, Yongda Abdessalam, Nayera Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics It remains debatable how billion-solar-mass supermassive black holes (SMBHs) form and evolve within the first billion years. We report results from a James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRSpec integral field unit (IFU) survey of 27 luminous quasars at $z \sim 5$-$6$, enabling a systematic investigation of their key physical properties and the associated, extended line emission. Our sample hosts SMBHs with $\log(M_{\mathrm{BH}}/M_\odot) \sim 8.6$-$9.7$ and Eddington ratios of $\sim 0.1$-$2.6$ based on H$β$, and the H$β$-based and H$α$-based BH mass are broadly consistent with each other. Our sample may have a slightly smaller median BH mass and larger median Eddington ratio than lower-redshift quasars within the same luminosity range, although the difference could still be explained by statistical uncertainties. They generally follow the empirical correlations between [O III] $λ$5007 equivalent width and bolometric luminosities or Eddington ratios formed by lower-redshift quasars. The majority of them fall within the Eigenvector~1 planes formed by lower-redshift quasars. Nevertheless, a subset of the sample shows enhanced, blueshifted [O III] emission associated with fast outflows. Spatially extended [O III] line emission is detected in 6 objects and shows morphologies and kinematics consistent with merging activities and/or turbulent and clumpy interstellar media (ISM). Tentative evidence of quasar radiative feedback shaping the ISM of a merging companion galaxy is seen in the object with the most extended [O III] emission. Our results provide crucial insight into the rapid growth of SMBHs and the gaseous environments they reside in at z$\sim$5-6. |
| title | A JWST/NIRSpec Integral Field Unit Survey of Luminous Quasars at z ~ 5-6 (Q-IFU): Rest-frame Optical Nuclear Properties and Extended Nebulae |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.06085 |