An 80-kpc Lyα halo around a high-redshift type-2 quasi-stellar object

We announce the discovery of an extended emission-line region associated with a high-redshift type-2 quasi-stellar object (QSO). The halo, which was discovered in our new wide-field narrow-band survey, resides at z = 2.85 in the Spitzer First Look Survey region and is extended over similar to 80 kpc. Deep very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations imply that approximately 50 per cent of the radio emission is extended on scales >200 pc. The inferred active galactic nuclei (AGN) luminosity is sufficient to ionize the extended halo, and the optical emission is consistent with being triggered coevally with the radio source. The Ly alpha halo is as luminous as those found around high-redshift radio galaxies; however, the active nucleus is several orders of magnitude less luminous at radio wavelengths than those Fanarof-Riley type II (FRIIs) more commonly associated with extended emission-line regions. AMS05 appears to be a high-redshift analogue to the radio-quiet quasar E1821+643 which is core dominated, but which also exhibits extended Fanarof-Riley type I (FRI)-like structure and contains an optically powerful AGN. We also find evidence for more quiescent kinematics in the Lya emission line in the outer regions of the halo, reminiscent of the haloes around the more powerful FRIIs. The optical to mid-infrared spectral energy distribution is well described by a combination of an obscured QSO ( L-bol similar to 3.4 +/- 0.2 x 10(13) L-circle dot) and a 1.4 Gyr old simple stellar population with mass similar to 3.9 +/- 0.3 x 10(11)M(circle dot).