Detection of Two Massive CO Systems in 4C 41.17 at z = 3.8

Carlos de Breuck , Dennis Downes , Roberto Neri , Wil van Breugel , Michiel Reuland , Alain Omont (1) , Rob Ivison

1 IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris

We have detected CO(4-3) in the z=3.8 radio galaxy 4C 41.17 with the IRAM Interferometer. The CO is in two massive (M_dyn ~ 6 x 10^10 M_Sun) systems separated by 1.8\" (13 kpc), and by 400 km/s in velocity, which coincide with two different dark lanes in a deep Ly-alpha image. One CO component coincides with the cm-radio core of the radio galaxy, and its redshift is close to that of the HeII AGN line. The second CO component is near the base of a cone-shaped region southwest of the nucleus, which resembles the emission-line cones seen in nearby AGN and starburst galaxies. The characteristics of the CO sources and their mm/submm dust continuum are similar to those found in ultraluminous IR galaxies and in some high-z radio galaxies and quasars. The fact that 4C 41.17 contains two CO systems is further evidence for the role of mergers in the evolution of galaxies at high redshift.

Domaines: Cosmologie et astrophysique extra-galactique [astro-ph.CO]

Carlos de Breuck, Dennis Downes, Roberto Neri, Wil van Breugel, Michiel Reuland, et al.. Detection of Two Massive CO Systems in 4C 41.17 at z = 3.8. Astronomy and Astrophysics - A&A, 2005, 430, pp.L1-L4. ⟨hal-00005391⟩