Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL
Volume 779, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
IOP Publishing Ltd
DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/779/1/24
Keywords
cosmology: observations; galaxies: active; quasars: general; quasars: individual (VIKING J234833.34-305410.0, J010953.13-304726.3, J030516.92-315056)
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [AST-1008882]
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science
- University of Arizona
- Brazilian Participation Group
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- University of Cambridge
- Carnegie Mellon University
- University of Florida
- French Participation Group
- German Participation Group
- Harvard University
- Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias
- Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group
- Johns Hopkins University
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
- New Mexico State University
- New York University
- Ohio State University
- Pennsylvania State University
- University of Portsmouth
- Princeton University
- Spanish Participation Group
- University of Tokyo
- University of Utah
- Vanderbilt University
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
- Yale University
- STFC [ST/J001546/1, ST/L001381/1, ST/F00270X/1, ST/F007566/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- Science and Technology Facilities Council [ST/L001381/1, ST/F00270X/1, ST/F007566/1, ST/J001546/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Astronomical Sciences [1109115] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Studying quasars at the highest redshifts can constrain models of galaxy and black hole formation, and it also probes the intergalactic medium in the early universe. Optical surveys have to date discovered more than 60 quasars up to z similar or equal to 6.4, a limit set by the use of the z-band and CCD detectors. Only one z greater than or similar to 6.4 quasar has been discovered, namely the z = 7.08 quasar ULAS J1120+0641, using near-infrared imaging. Here we report the discovery of three new z greater than or similar to 6.4 quasars in 332 deg(2) of the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy (VIKING) survey, thus extending the number from 1 to 4. The newly discovered quasars have redshifts of z = 6.60, 6.75, and 6.89. The absolute magnitudes are between -26.0 and -25.5, 0.6-1.1 mag fainter than ULAS J1120+0641. Near-infrared spectroscopy revealed the Mg II emission line in all three objects. The quasars are powered by black holes with masses of similar to(1-2) x 10(9) M-circle dot. In our probed redshift range of 6.44 < z < 7.44 we can set a lower limit on the space density of supermassive black holes of rho(M-BH > 10(9) M-circle dot) > 1.1 x 10(-9) Mpc(-3). The discovery of three quasars in our survey area is consistent with the z = 6 quasar luminosity function when extrapolated to z similar to 7. We do not find evidence for a steeper decline in the space density of quasars with increasing redshift from z = 6 to z = 7.
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