Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, Germany.
University of California Observatories-Lick Observatory, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA.
Science. 2015 May 15;348(6236):779-83. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5397.
All galaxies once passed through a hyperluminous quasar phase powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole. But because these episodes are brief, quasars are rare objects typically separated by cosmological distances. In a survey for Lyman-α emission at redshift z ≈ 2, we discovered a physical association of four quasars embedded in a giant nebula. Located within a substantial overdensity of galaxies, this system is probably the progenitor of a massive galaxy cluster. The chance probability of finding a quadruple quasar is estimated to be ∼10(-7), implying a physical connection between Lyman-α nebulae and the locations of rare protoclusters. Our findings imply that the most massive structures in the distant universe have a tremendous supply (≃10(11) solar masses) of cool dense (volume density ≃ 1 cm(-3)) gas, which is in conflict with current cosmological simulations.
所有星系都曾经历过一个由超亮类星体阶段提供动力的超巨黑洞吸积过程。但由于这些阶段很短暂，类星体是罕见的天体，通常相隔宇宙距离。在对红移 z ≈ 2 处的莱曼阿尔法辐射的一项调查中，我们发现了四个嵌入在巨大星云中的类星体的物理关联。位于星系大量超密集区中，这个系统可能是一个巨大星系团的前身。发现四重类星体的几率估计为 ∼10(-7)，这表明莱曼阿尔法星云与罕见原星系团的位置之间存在物理联系。我们的发现意味着遥远宇宙中最庞大的结构拥有巨大的冷密集（体积密度 ≃ 1 cm(-3))气体供应（≃10(11) 个太阳质量），这与当前的宇宙学模拟相冲突。
