Discovery of a Color-selected Quasar atz =5.50*

Daniel Stern; Hyron Spinrad; Peter Eisenhardt; Andrew J. Bunker; Steve Dawson; S. A. Stanford; Richard Elston

doi:10.1086/312614

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Discovery of a Color-selected Quasar at z = 5.50^*

Daniel Stern¹, Hyron Spinrad², Peter Eisenhardt¹, Andrew J. Bunker³, Steve Dawson², S. A. Stanford⁴, and Richard Elston⁵

Published 2000 March 31 • © 2000. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 533, Number 2 Citation Daniel Stern et al 2000 ApJ 533 L75 DOI 10.1086/312614

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Author affiliations

¹ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Mail Stop 169-327, Pasadena, CA 91109

² Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720

³ Institute of Astronomy, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 OHA, England, UK

⁴ Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616; and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

⁵ Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, P.O. Box 112055, Gainesville, FL 32611

Dates

Received 2000 January 25
Accepted 2000 February 29
Published 2000 March 31

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Abstract

We present observations of RD J030117+002025, a quasar at z = 5.50 discovered from deep, multicolor, ground-based observations covering 74 arcmin². This is the most distant quasar or active galaxy currently known. The object was targeted as an R-band dropout, with R_AB > 26.3 (3 σ limit in a 3'' diameter region), I_AB = 23.8, and z_AB = 23.4. The Keck/Low-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer spectrum shows broad Lyα/N V λ1240 emission and sharp absorption decrements from the highly redshifted hydrogen forests. The fractional continuum depression due to the Lyα forest is D_A = 0.90. RD J030117+002025 is the least luminous high-redshift quasar known (M_B ≈ -22.7).

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Footnotes

*
Based on observations at the W. M. Keck Observatory, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and Palomar Observatory. Keck Observatory is operated as a scientific partnership among the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

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Discovery of a Color-selected Quasar at z = 5.50*