Discovery of a Lyα-emitting Dark Cloud within the z ∼ 2.8 SMM J02399-0136 System

Abstract

We present Keck/KCWI integral field spectrograph observations of the complex system surrounding SMM J02399$-$0136 (a lensed $z=2.8$ sub-mm galaxy), including an associated Ly$\rm \alpha$ nebula, a dust-obscured, broad-absorption-line quasar, and neighboring galaxies. At a 3$\sigma$ surface brightness contour of 1.6$\times$ 10$^{-17}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ arcsec$^{-2}$, the Ly$\rm \alpha$ nebula extends over 17 arcsec ($\gtrsim 140$ physical kpc) and has a total Ly$\rm \alpha$ luminosity of $2.5 \times 10^{44} \, \rm erg \, s^{-1}$ (uncorrected for lensing). The nebula exhibits a kinematic shear of $\sim$ 1000 km s$^{-1}$ over 100 pkpc with lowest velocities east of SMM J02399$-$0136 and increasing to the southwest. We also discover a bright, Ly$\rm \alpha$ emitter, separated spatially and kinematically from the nebula, at a projected separation of $\approx$60 kpc from the quasar. This source has no clear central counterpart in deep $Hubble \, Space \, Telescope$ imaging, giving an intrinsic Ly$\rm \alpha$ rest-frame equivalent width greater than 312 $ \rm \mathring{A}$ (5-$\sigma$). We argue that this 'dark cloud' is illuminated by the quasar with a UV flux that is orders of magnitude brighter than the emission along our sightline. This result confirms statistical inferences that luminous quasars at $z>2$ emit UV radiation anisotropically. Future KCWI observations of other lines, e.g. Ly$\rm \beta$, He$\rm _{II}$, C$\rm _{IV}$, etc, and with polarimetry will further reveal the origin of the Ly$\rm \alpha$ nebula and nature of the dark cloud.