Molecular Gas Kinematics and Star Formation Properties of the Strongly-Lensed Quasar Host Galaxy RXS J1131-1231

Abstract

We report observations of CO(J=2-1) and CO(J=3-2) line emission towards the quadruply-lensed quasar RXS J1131-1231 at z = 0.654 obtained using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) and the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). Our lens modeling shows that the asymmetry in the double-horned CO(J = 2-1) line profile is mainly a result of differential lensing, where the magnification factor varies from ~3 to ~9 across different kinematic components. The intrinsically symmetric line profile and a smooth source-plane velocity gradient suggest that the host galaxy is an extended rotating disk, with a CO size of R_CO~6 kpc and a dynamical mass of M_dyn~8x10^10 Msun. We also find a secondary CO-emitting source near RXS J1131-1231 whose location is consistent with the optically-faint companion reported in previous studies. The lensing-corrected molecular gas masses are M_gas = (1.4+/-0.3)x10^10 Msun and (2.0+/-0.1)x10^9 Msun for RXS J1131-1231 and the companion, respectively. We find a lensing-corrected stellar mass of M_* = (3+/-1)x10^10 Msun and a star formation rate of SFR_FIR = (120+/-63) Msun yr^-1 , corresponding to a specific SFR and star formation efficiency comparable to z~1 disk galaxies not hosting quasars. The implied gas mass fraction of ~18+/-4% is consistent with the previously-observed cosmic decline since z~2. We thus find no evidence for quenching of star formation in RXS J1131-1231. This agrees with our finding of an elevated MBH/Mbulge ratio of >0.27+0.11% -0.08 compared to the local value, suggesting that the bulk of its black hole mass is largely in place while its stellar bulge is still assembling.