2004/03/23 by Alberto D. Bolatto, James Di Francesco, Chris J. Willott
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/421264
published as Astrophys.J. 606 (2004) L101-L104 · Five pages, one figure, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal Letters
arxiv created 2004/03/23 · openalex publication_date 2004/04/15 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We report the nondetection of the [C II] ( 2 P 3/2 → 2 P 1/2 ) 157.74 μm transition in the z = 6.42 quasar SDSS J1148+5251 after 37.5 hr of integration with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. This transition is the main cooling line of the star-forming interstellar medium and usually the brightest far-infrared (FIR) line in galaxies. Our observed 1 σ rms = 1.3 mK in the T scale translates to L < 2.6 × 10 9 L ☉ . Using a recent estimate of the FIR continuum of this quasar, we derive for SDSS J1148+5251 L / L FIR < 5 × 10 -4 , a ratio similar to that observed in local ultraluminous infrared galaxies but considerably smaller than what is typical in nearby normal and starburst galaxies. This indicates that the small L / L FIR ratio observed locally in luminous FIR objects also persists at the highest redshifts.