First detection of [CII]158um at high redshift: vigorous star formation in the early universe
Abstract
We report the detection of the 2P3/2 -> 2P1/2 fine-structure line of C+ at 157.74 micron in SDSSJ114816.64+525150.3 (hereafter J1148+5251), the most distant known quasar, at z=6.42, using the IRAM 30-meter telescope. This is the first detection of the [CII] line at high redshift, and also the first detection in a Hyperluminous Infrared Galaxy (LFIR > 1013 Lsun). The [CII] line is detected at a significance level of 8 sigma and has a luminosity of 4.4 x 109 Lsun. The L[CII]/LFIR ratio is 2 x 10-4, about an order of magnitude smaller than observed in local normal galaxies and similar to the ratio observed in local Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies. The [CII] line luminosity indicates that the host galaxy of this quasar is undergoing an intense burst of star formation with an estimated rate of ~3000 Msun/yr. The detection of C+ in SDSS J1148+5251 suggests a significant enrichment of metals at z ~ 6 (age of the universe ~870 Myr), although the data are consistent with a reduced carbon to oxygen ratio as expected from chemical evolutionary models of the early phases of galaxy formation.
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