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No excess of bright galaxies around the redshift 7.1 quasar ULAS J1120+0641


Type

Article

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Authors

Simpson, C 
Mortlock, D 
Warren, S 
Cantalupo, S 

Abstract

We present optical and near-infrared imaging of the field of the z = 7.0842 quasar ULAS J112001.48+064124.3 taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. We use these data to search for galaxies that may be physically associated with the quasar, using the Lyman break technique, and find three such objects, although the detection of one in Spitzer Space Telescope imaging strongly suggests it lies at z ∼ 2. This is consistent with the field luminosity function and indicates that there is no excess of >L★ galaxies within 1 Mpc of the quasar. A detection of the quasar shortwards of the Lyα line is consistent with the previously observed evolution of the intergalactic medium at z > 5.5.

Description

Keywords

galaxies: active, galaxies: formation, galaxies: high redshift, quasars: individual: ULAS J1120+0641, dark ages, reionization, first stars

Journal Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0035-8711
1365-2966

Volume Title

442

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)
Sponsorship
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/H00243X/1)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/L001381/1)
SC acknowledges support from the NSF grant AST-1010004 and NASA HST grant GO-13033.06-A, RJM acknowledges ERC funding via the award of a consolidator grant, and BV has been supported by the ERC grant ‘Cosmic Dawn’.