X-Ray Evidence Against the Hypothesis that the Hyper-Luminous z=6.3 Quasar J0100+2802 is Lensed

Abstract

The $z=6.327$ quasar SDSS J010013.02+280225.8 (hereafter J0100+2802) is believed to be powered by a black hole more massive than $10^{10}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, making it the most massive black hole known in the first billion years of the Universe. However, recent high-resolution ALMA imaging shows four structures at the location of this quasar, potentially implying that it is lensed with a magnification of $\mu \sim 450$ and thus its black hole is significantly less massive. Furthermore, for the underlying distribution of magnifications of $z\gtrsim 6$ quasars to produce such an extreme value, theoretical models predict that a larger number of quasars in this epoch should be lensed, implying further overestimates of early black hole masses. To provide an independent constraint on the possibility that J0100+2802 is lensed, we re-analyzed archival XMM-Newton observations of the quasar and compared the expected ratios of X-ray luminosity to rest-frame UV and IR luminosities. For both cases, J0100+2802's X-ray flux is consistent with the no-lensing scenario; while this could be explained by J0100+2802 being X-ray faint, we find it does not have the X-ray or optical spectral features expected for an X-ray faint quasar. Finally, we compare the overall distribution of X-ray fluxes for known, typical $z\gtrsim 6$ quasars. We find a $3\sigma$ tension between the observed and predicted X-ray-to-UV flux ratios when adopting the magnification probability distribution required to produce a $\mu =450$ quasar.

8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters

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