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arXiv · astro-ph/9608006

Molecular gas and dust around a radio-quiet quasar at redshift 4.7

Alain Omont·Patrick Petitjean·Stephane Guilloteau·Richard G. McMahon·P. M. Solomon·Emmanuel Pecontal
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Abstract

We report the detection of emission from dust and carbon monoxide in the radio-quiet quasar BR1202--0725 at redshift z=4.7. Maps of these emissions reveal two objects separated by a few arc seconds, which could indicate either the presence of a companion to the quasar or gravitational lensing of the quasar itself. Regardless of the precise interpretation of the maps, the detection of carbon monoxide confirms the presence of a large mass of molecular gas in one of the most distant galaxies known, and shows that conditions conducive to huge bursts of star formation existed in the early Universe.

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Alain Omont, Patrick Petitjean, Stephane Guilloteau, Richard G. McMahon, P. M. Solomon, Emmanuel Pecontal. 1996-08-01. Molecular gas and dust around a radio-quiet quasar at redshift 4.7. https://doi.org/10.1038/382428a0

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