Discovery of a Lya emitting dark-cloud within z ~ 2.8 SMMJ02399-0136 system

Abstract

We present Keck/KCWI integral field spectrograph observations of the complex system surrounding SMM J02399$-$0136 (a lensed $z=2.8$ sub-mm galaxy), including an associated Ly$\alpha$ nebula, a dust-obscured, broad-absorption-line quasar, and neighboring galaxies. At a 3$\sigma$ surface brightness contour of 1.6$\times$ 10${}^{-17}$ erg s${}^{-1}$ cm${}^{-2}$ arcsec${}^{-2}$, the Ly$\alpha$ nebula extends over 17 arcsec ($\gtrsim 140$ physical kpc) and has a total Ly$\alpha$ luminosity of $2.5\times 10^{44}\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$ (uncorrected for lensing). The nebula exhibits a kinematic shear of $\sim$ 1000 km s${}^{-1}$ over 100 pkpc with lowest velocities east of SMM J02399$-$0136 and increasing to the southwest. We also discover a bright, Ly$\alpha$ emitter, separated spatially and kinematically from the nebula, at a projected separation of $\approx$60 kpc from the quasar. This source has no clear central counterpart in deep $HubbleSpaceTelescope$ imaging, giving an intrinsic Ly$\alpha$ rest-frame equivalent width greater than 312 $\mathring{\mathrm{A}}$ (5-$\sigma$). We argue that this 'dark cloud' is illuminated by the quasar with a UV flux that is orders of magnitude brighter than the emission along our sightline. This result confirms statistical inferences that luminous quasars at $z>2$ emit UV radiation anisotropically. Future KCWI observations of other lines, e.g. Ly$\beta$, He${}_{\mathrm{II}}$, C${}_{\mathrm{IV}}$, etc, and with polarimetry will further reveal the origin of the Ly$\alpha$ nebula and nature of the dark cloud.

8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ

References in corpus (11)

• AGN Dusty Tori: I. Handling of Clumpy Media
• Kiloparsec-scale outflows are prevalent among luminous AGN: outflows and feedback in the context of the overall AGN population
• Resolving the complex structure of the dust torus in the active nucleus of the Circinus galaxy
• The first ultraviolet quasar stacked spectrum at z=2.4 from WFC3
• Quasar Quartet Embedded in Giant Nebula Reveals Rare Massive Structure in Distant Universe
• Quasars Probing Quasars II: The Anisotropic Clustering of Optically Thick Absorbers around Quasars
• Inspiraling Halo Accretion Mapped in Lyman-$\alpha$ Emission around a $z\sim 3$ Quasar
• Large turbulent reservoirs of cold molecular gas around high-redshift starburst galaxies
• VIMOS-VLT spectroscopy of the giant Ly-alpha nebulae associated with three z~2.5 radio galaxies
• A z = 3 Lyman Alpha Blob Associated with a Damped Lyman Alpha System Proximate to its Background Quasar
• High-Resolution Submillimeter Imaging of the Ly-alpha Blob1 in SSA 22

Cited by in corpus (11)

• A diffuse tidal dwarf galaxy destined to fade out as a "dark galaxy"
• Probing the Inner Circumgalactic Medium and Quasar Illumination around the Reddest `Extremely Red Quasar' (ERQ)
• ALMA and MUSE observations reveal a quiescent multi-phase circumgalactic medium around the z~3.6 radio galaxy 4C 19.71
• A Long Stream of Metal-Poor Cool Gas around a Massive Starburst Galaxy at z = 2.67
• ALMA Observations of Lyman-alpha Blob 1: Multiple major-mergers and widely distributed interstellar media
• Where infall meets outflows: turbulent dissipation probed by CH${}^{+}$ and Ly$\alpha$ in the starburst/AGN galaxy group SMM J02399$-$0136 at z$\sim$2.8
• Discovery of a protocluster core associated with an enormous Ly$\alpha$ Nebula at $z=2.3$
• Circumgalactic Ly$\alpha$ emission around submillimeter-bright galaxies with different quasar contributions
• A search for dust and molecular gas in enormous Ly$\alpha$ nebulae at $z\approx 2$
• Direct high-resolution observation of feedback and chemical enrichment in the circumgalactic medium at redshift z ~ 2.8
• J-PAS: Discovery of RaJav, a bright spatially extended Ly$\alpha$ Nebula at z=2.25