Contatto di riferimento: Marcello Giroletti
Partecipanti: Dr Amy Kimball (CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science)
Abstract: I will present ALMA observations of some of the most luminous quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) known, investigating their far-infrared emission and discussing an extremely broad and luminous double-peaked [CII] line in a QSO at redshift z=4.6. The parent sample was compiled from multi-wavelength sky survey data, with which we were able to identify the most luminous (unobscured) QSOs in the Universe. Of over 100,000 broad-line quasars identified in the SDSS, just 90 have bolometric luminosities greater than 10^14 solar luminosities (as or more luminous than the most luminous obscured quasars currently known). We are for the first time determining the far-infrared properties of these most extremely luminous QSOs, and can estimate their contribution to the global star formation rate. Furthermore, the [CII] emission indicates a massive rotating disk around an extremely massive black hole that was already established at high redshift.