2004/11/26 by Carlos De Breuck, Dennis Downes, Roberto Neri +4
Physics and Astronomy · #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:200400115
published as Astron.Astrophys. 430 (2005) L1-L4 · 5 Pages, including 4 PostScript figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Letters
arxiv created 2004/11/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We have detected CO(4-3) in the z=3.8 radio galaxy 4C 41.17 with the IRAM Interferometer. The CO is in two massive (Mdyn ~ 6 x 1010 MSun) systems separated by 1.8" (13 kpc), and by 400 km/s in velocity, which coincide with two different dark lanes in a deep Ly-alpha image. One CO component coincides with the cm-radio core of the radio galaxy, and its redshift is close to that of the HeII AGN line. The second CO component is near the base of a cone-shaped region southwest of the nucleus, which resembles the emission-line cones seen in nearby AGN and starburst galaxies. The characteristics of the CO sources and their mm/submm dust continuum are similar to those found in ultraluminous IR galaxies and in some high-z radio galaxies and quasars. The fact that 4C 41.17 contains two CO systems is further evidence for the role of mergers in the evolution of galaxies at high redshift.