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A Molecular Einstein Ring: Imaging a Starburst Disk Surrounding a Quasi-Stellar Object

C. L. Carilli·G. F. Lewis·S. G. Djorgovski·A. Mahabal·P. Cox·F. Bertoldi·A. Omont
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Abstract

Images of the CO 2-1 line emission, and the radio continuum emission, from the redshift 4.12 gravitationally lensed quasi-stellar object (QSO) PSS J2322+1944 reveal an Einstein ring with a diameter of 1.5". These observations are modeled as a star forming disk surrounding the QSO nucleus with a radius of 2 kpc. The implied massive star formation rate is 900 M_sun/year. At this rate a substantial fraction of the stars in a large elliptical galaxy could form on a dynamical time scale of 10^8 years. The observation of active star formation in the host galaxy of a high-redshift QSO supports the hypothesis of coeval formation of supermassive black holes and stars in spheroidal galaxies.

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C. L. Carilli, G. F. Lewis, S. G. Djorgovski, A. Mahabal, P. Cox, F. Bertoldi, A. Omont. 2003-04-07. A Molecular Einstein Ring: Imaging a Starburst Disk Surrounding a Quasi-Stellar Object. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082600

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