A gravitationally lensed water maser in the early Universe
A gravitationally lensed water maser in the early Universe
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DOI：
10.1038/nature07544
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发表时间：
2008-12
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
C. Impellizzeri;J. McKean;P. Castangia;A. Roy;C. Henkel;A. Brunthaler;O. Wucknitz
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
C. Impellizzeri;J. McKean;P. Castangia;A. Roy;C. Henkel;A. Brunthaler;O. Wucknitz
水微波激射器存在于与活跃星系中心的超大质量黑洞密切相关的致密分子云中。根据对局域水脉泽光度函数的了解，预计中红移和高红移脉泽将极其罕见。然而，红移 z > 2 的星系可能与本地发现的星系有很大不同，尤其是因为更频繁的合并和相互作用事件。在这里，我们使用引力透镜来搜索红移比其他方式更高的脉泽，并在富含灰尘和气体的引力透镜 1 型类星体 MG J0414+ 0534 中找到红移 2.64 的水脉泽（参考文献）。各向同性光度为10,000（太阳光度），是当地最强大的水脉泽的两倍，是先前已知的最遥远的水脉泽的一半。使用局部确定的光度函数，找到与任何单个活动星系相关的如此明亮的微波激射器的概率为 10-6。事实上，我们在第一个观测到的星系中看到了这样的脉塞，这必然意味着脉塞的体积密度和光度在红移 2.64 处更高。
Water masers,,, are found in dense molecular clouds closely associated with supermassive black holes at the centres of active galaxies. On the basis of the understanding of the local water-maser luminosity function, it was expected that masers at intermediate and high redshifts would be extremely rare. However, galaxies at redshifts z> 2 might be quite different from those found locally, not least because of more frequent mergers and interaction events. Here we use gravitational lensing to search for masers at higher redshifts than would otherwise be possible, and find a water maser at redshift 2.64 in the dust-and gas-rich, gravitationally lensed type-1 quasar MG J0414+ 0534 (refs). The isotropic luminosity is 10,000 (, solar luminosity), which is twice that of the most powerful local water maser and half that of the most distant maser previously known. Using the locally determined luminosity function, the probability of finding a maser this luminous associated with any single active galaxy is 10-6. The fact that we see such a maser in the first galaxy we observe must mean that the volume densities and luminosities of masers are higher at redshift 2.64.