Extremely Red Objects in Two Quasar Fields at z ~ 1.5

Abstract

We present an investigation of the properties and environments of bright extremely red objects (EROs) found in the fields of the quasars TXS 0145+386 and 4C 15.55, both at z ~ 1.4. There is marginal evidence from Chandra ACIS imaging for hot cluster gas with a luminosity of a few 10^44 ergs/s in the field of 4C 15.55. The TXS 0145+386 field has an upper limit at a similar value, but it also clearly shows an overdensity of faint galaxies. None of the EROs are detected as X-ray sources. For two of the EROs that have spectral-energy distributions and rest-frame near-UV spectra that show that they are strongly dominated by old stellar populations, we determine radial-surface-brightness profiles from adaptive-optics images. Both of these galaxies are best fit by profiles close to exponentials, plus a compact nucleus comprising ~30% of the total light in one case and 8% in the other. Neither is well fit by an r^1/4-law profile. This apparent evidence for the formation of massive ~2 X 10^11 disks of old stars in the early universe indicates that at least some galaxies formed essentially monolithically, with high star-formation rates sustained over a few 10^8 years, and without the aid of major mergers.

25 pages, 13 figures, accepted to ApJ

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