ALMA 50-parsec-resolution Imaging of Jet–ISM Interaction in the Lensed Quasar MG J0414+0534

Abstract

Abstract We report our high-resolution (0.″03–0.″07) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaging of the quadruply lensed radio-loud quasar MG J0414+0534 at redshift z = 2.639 in the continuum and the broad CO(11−10) line at ∼340 GHz. With the help of strong lensing magnification and ALMA’s high resolution, we succeeded in resolving the jet/dust and CO gas in the quasar host galaxy, both extending up to ∼1 kpc, with a resolution of ∼50 pc for the first time. Both the continuum emission and the CO(11−10) line have a similar bimodal structure aligned with the quasar jets (∼200 pc) observed by Very Long Baseline Interferometry at 5 and 8.4 GHz. The CO gas in the vicinity of both the eastern and western jet components at the location of ∼80 pc from the quasar core are moving at high velocities, up to ±600 km s−1 relative to the core. The observed features show clear evidence of strong interaction between the jets and interstellar medium (ISM). High temperature and high-density environments in the ISM of the quasar host galaxy, as suggested from CO line ratios, also support this result. The small scale of the jets, the jet–ISM interaction, and the continuum spectral energy distribution of this source indicate that we are watching the infancy stage of quasar radio activity.