Far-Universe follow-up of Herschels discovery of Massive Molecular Outflows andNegative Feedback in ULIRGs: the OH 34 micron Doublet in APM 08279+5255 at z=3.9
Using the PACS spectroscopic range mode, we propose to follow-up one of themost exciting discoveries of the Herschel mission: strong negative feedbackin massive molecular outflows as traced by the OH molecule. Here we propose,for the first time in the far-Universe, to perform a sensitive observation inthe ground-state OH 34 micron doublet in APM 08279+5255, a gravitationallylensed, radio quiet, broad absorption line (BAL) quasar at z=3.91. There is reason to believe that this source may be a scaled up versionsimilar to local ULIRGs such as Mrk 231, with an apparent bolometricluminosity of L ~ 7 x 10^15 Lo: it is over three orders of magnitude moreluminous than Mrk 231-, and with highly luminous radiatively pumped far-IRemission lines of H2O. The OH 34 micron line will be red-shifted to 170microns in a sensitive PACS spectral region and will be observed in absorptionagainst the extraordinarily strong rest-frame mid-IR continuum emission closeto the peak of the quasar SED. It will provide the opportunity to study theextreme luminosity end of the feedback phenomenon in ULIRGs. By scaling theOH 34 micron absorption derived from our outflow models of the Herschelobservations of Mrk 231 to the continuum level of APM 08279+5255, we estimatethat 11.0 hours of observing time will be enough to detect the line with5-sigma confidence; nevertheless, a stronger signal may be detected given theextraordinary properties of the source. If so, this will allow for velocitycharacterization of the flow. To our knowledge, this will be the first attemptto observe molecular outflows in hyper-ULIRGs in the early Universe and totest the current paradigm of negative feedback at the high end of theluminosity scale.
Publication
Instrument
PACS_PacsRangeSpec_point
Temporal Coverage
2012-10-22T01:29:10Z/2012-10-22T12:24:53Z
Version
SPG v14.2.0
Mission Description
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
European Space Agency, gonzalez-alfonso et al., 2013, 'Far-Universe follow-up of Herschel's discovery of Massive Molecular Outflows andNegative Feedback in ULIRGs: the OH 34 micron Doublet in APM 08279+5255 at z=3.9', SPG v14.2.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-h7j7pll
