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Title: A thirty-four billion solar mass black hole in SMSS J2157–3602, the most luminous known quasar

Journal Article · · Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611, Australia, Centre for Gravitational Astrophysics, Research Schools of Physics, and Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 2601, Australia
  2. European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Casilla 19001, Vitacura, Santiago 19, Chile
  3. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
+ Show Author Affiliations

ABSTRACT From near-infrared spectroscopic measurements of the Mg ii emission line doublet, we estimate the black hole (BH) mass of the quasar, SMSS J215728.21–360215.1, as being (3.4 ± 0.6) × 1010 M⊙ and refine the redshift of the quasar to be z = 4.692. SMSS J2157 is the most luminous known quasar, with a 3000 Å luminosity of (4.7 ± 0.5) × 1047 erg s−1 and an estimated bolometric luminosity of 1.6 × 1048 erg s−1, yet its Eddington ratio is only ∼0.4. Thus, the high luminosity of this quasar is a consequence of its extremely large BH – one of the most massive BHs at z > 4.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
1635423
Journal Information:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Journal Name: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Vol. 496 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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