To extend the search for quasars in the epoch of reionization beyond the tip of the luminosity function, we explore point-source candidates at redshift z ∼ 8 in SuperBoRG, a compilation of ∼0.4 deg2 archival medium-deep (m F160W ∼ 26.5 ABmag, 5σ) parallel infrared (IR) images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Initial candidates are selected by using the Lyman-break technique. We then carefully analyze source morphology, and robustly identify three point sources at z ∼ 8. Photometric redshift analysis reveals that they are preferentially fit by extragalactic templates, and we conclude that they are unlikely to be low-z interlopers, including brown dwarfs. A clear IRAC ch2 flux excess is seen in one of the point sources, which is expected if the source has strong Hβ+[O iii] emission with a rest-frame equivalent width of ∼3000 Å. Deep spectroscopic data taken with Keck/MOSFIRE, however, do not reveal Lyα emission from the object. In combination with the estimated Hβ+[O iii] equivalent width, we place an upper limit on its Lyα escape fraction of . We estimate the number density of these point sources as ∼1 × 10−6 Mpc−3 mag−1 at M UV ∼ −23 mag. The final interpretation of our results remains inconclusive: extrapolation from low-z studies of faint quasars suggests that ≳100× survey volume may be required to find one of this luminosity. The James Webb Space Telescope will be able to conclusively determine the nature of our luminous point-source candidates, while the Roman Space Telescope will probe ∼200 times the area of the sky with the same observing time considered in this HST study.
Extremely red quasars, with bolometric luminosities exceeding 1047 erg s−1, are a fascinating high-redshift population that is absent in the local universe. They are the best candidates for supermassive black holes accreting at rates at or above the Eddington limit, and they are associated with the most rapid and powerful outflows of ionized gas known to date. They are also hosted by massive galaxies. Here we present the first integral field unit observations of a high-redshift quasar obtained by the Near Infrared Spectrograph on board the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which targeted SDSS J165202.64+172852.3, an extremely red quasar at z = 2.94. The JWST observations reveal extended ionized gas—as traced by [O iii] λ5007 Å—in the host galaxy of the quasar, its outflow, and the circumgalactic medium. The complex morphology and kinematics imply that the quasar resides in a very dense environment with several interacting companion galaxies within projected distances of 10–15 kpc. The high density of the environment and the large velocities of the companion galaxies suggest that this system may represent the core of a forming cluster of galaxies. The system is a good candidate for a merger of two or more dark matter halos, each with a mass of a few 1013 M ⊙, and potentially traces one of the densest knots at z ∼ 3.
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