Companion Galaxy Research Articles

Spectral Energy Distributions of Companion Galaxies to z ∼ 6 Quasars

Abstract Massive, quiescent galaxies are already observed at redshift z ∼ 4, i.e., ∼1.5 Gyr after the big bang. Current models predict them to be formed via massive, gas-rich mergers at z > 6. Recent ALMA observations of the cool gas and dust in z ≳ 6 quasars have discovered [C ii]- and far-infrared-bright galaxies adjacent to several quasars. In this work, we present sensitive imaging and spectroscopic follow-up observations, with HST/WFC3, Spitzer/IRAC, VLT/MUSE, Magellan/FIRE, and LBT/LUCI-MODS, of ALMA-detected, dust-rich companion galaxies of four quasars at z ≳ 6, specifically acquired to probe their stellar content and unobscured star formation rate. Three companion galaxies do not show significant emission in the observed optical/IR wavelength range. The photometric limits suggest that these galaxies are highly dust-enshrouded, with unobscured star formation rates SFRUV < few M ⊙ yr−1, and a stellar content of M * < 1010 M ⊙ yr−1. However, the companion to PJ167−13 shows bright rest-frame UV emission (F140W AB = 25.48). Its spectral energy distribution resembles that of a star-forming galaxy with a total SFR ∼ 50 M ⊙ yr−1 and M * ∼ 9 × 109 M ⊙. All the companion sources are consistent with residing on the galaxy main sequence at z ∼ 6. Additional, deeper data from future facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, are needed in order to characterize these gas-rich sources in the first gigayear of cosmic history.

The diverse galaxy counts in the environment of high-redshift massive black holes in Horizon-AGN

ABSTRACT High-redshift quasars are believed to reside in highly biased regions of the Universe, where black hole growth is sustained by an enhanced number of mergers and by being at the intersection of filaments bringing fresh gas. This assumption should be supported by an enhancement of the number counts of galaxies in the field of view of quasars. While the current observations of quasar environments do not lead to a consensus on a possible excess of galaxies, the future missions JWST, WFIRST, and Euclid will provide new insights on quasar environments, and will substantially increase the number of study-cases. We are in a crucial period, where we need to both understand the current observations and predict how upcoming missions will improve our understanding of BH environments. Using the large-scale simulation Horizon-AGN, we find that statistically the most massive BHs reside in environments with the largest galaxy number counts. However, we find a large variance in galaxy number counts, and some massive BHs do not show enhanced counts in their neighbourhood. Interestingly, some massive BHs have a very close galaxy companion but no further enhancement at larger scales, in agreement with recent observations. We find that AGN feedback in the surrounding galaxies is able to decrease their luminosity and stellar mass, and therefore to make them unobservable when using restrictive galaxy selection criteria. Radiation from the quasars can spread over large distances, which could affect the formation history of surrounding galaxies, but a careful analysis of these processes requires radiative transfer simulations.

Discovery of the first heavily obscured QSO candidate at z > 6 in a close galaxy pair

While theoretical arguments predict that most of the early growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) happened during heavily obscured phases of accretion, current methods used for selecting z > 6 quasars (QSOs) are strongly biased against obscured QSOs, thus considerably limiting our understanding of accreting SMBHs during the first gigayear of the Universe from an observational point of view. We report the Chandra discovery of the first heavily obscured QSO candidate in the early universe, hosted by a close (≈5 kpc) galaxy pair at z = 6.515. One of the members is an optically classified type-1 QSO, PSO167–13. The companion galaxy was first detected as a [C II] emitter by Atacama large millimeter array (ALMA). An X-ray source is significantly (P = 0.9996) detected by Chandra in the 2–5 keV band, with < 1.14 net counts in the 0.5–2 keV band, although the current positional uncertainty does not allow a conclusive association with either PSO167–13 or its companion galaxy. From X-ray photometry and hardness-ratio arguments, we estimated an obscuring column density of NH > 2 × 1024 cm−2 and NH > 6 × 1023 cm−2 at 68% and 90% confidence levels, respectively. Thus, regardless of which of the two galaxies is associated with the X-ray emission, this source is the first heavily obscured QSO candidate at z > 6.

Clues on Arp 142: The spiral–elliptical merger

Abstract Nearby merging pairs are unique laboratories in which one can study the gravitational effects on the individual interacting components. In this manuscript, we report the characterization of selected H ii regions along the peculiar galaxy NGC 2936, member of the galaxy pair Arp 142, an E+S interaction, known as ‘The Penguin’. Using Gemini South spectroscopy, we have derived a high enhancement of the global star formation rate (SFR) = 35.9 M⊙ yr−1 probably stimulated by the interaction. Star-forming regions on this galaxy display oxygen abundances that are consistent with solar metallicities. The current data set does not allow us to conclude any clear scenario for NGC 2936. Diagnostic diagrams suggest that the central region of NGC 2936 is ionized by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity and the eastern tidal plume in NGC 2936 is experiencing a burst of star formation, which may be triggered by the gas compression due to the interaction event with its elliptical companion galaxy: NGC 2937. The ionization mechanism of these sources is consistent with shock models of low velocities of 200–300 km s −1. The isophotal analysis shows tidal features on NGC 2937: at inner radii non-concentric (or off-centring) isophotes, and at large radii, a faint excess of the surface brightness profile with respect to de Vaucouleurs law. By comparing the radial velocity profiles and morphological characteristics of Arp 142 with a library of numerical simulations, we conclude that the current stage of the system would be about 50 ± 25 Myr after the first pericentre passage.

H i 21 cm mapping of the host galaxy of AT2018cow: a fast-evolving luminous transient within a ring of high column density gas

Abstract We report Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope H i 21 cm imaging of CGCG 137–068, the host galaxy of the fast-evolving luminous transient (FELT) AT2018cow. This is the first study of the gas properties of a FELT host galaxy. We obtain a total H i mass of (6.6 ± 0.9) × 108 M⊙ for the host galaxy, which implies an atomic gas depletion time of 3 Gyr and a gas-to-stellar mass ratio of 0.47, consistent with values in normal star-forming dwarf galaxies. At spatial resolutions of ≥6 kpc, the H i of CGCG 137–068 appears to be distributed in a disc, in mostly regular rotation. However, at spatial resolutions of 2 kpc, the highest column density H i is found to lie in an asymmetric ring around the central regions, with H i column densities ≥1021 cm−2; AT2018cow lies within this high column density ring. This H i ring could be suggestive of an interaction between CGCG 137–068 and a companion galaxy. Such a ring is ideal for the formation of compact regions of star formation hosting massive stars, favouring massive star progenitor models for AT2018cow. We measure a 1.4 GHz flux density of 1.13 ± 0.13 mJy for AT2018cow on 2018 August 27.

The host galaxy of GRB 980425/SN1998bw: a collisional ring galaxy

ABSTRACT We report Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), Very Large Telescope (VLT), and Spitzer Space Telescope observations of ESO 184−G82, the host galaxy of GRB 980425/SN 1998bw, that yield evidence of a companion dwarf galaxy at a projected distance of 13 kpc. The companion, hereafter GALJ193510-524947, is a gas-rich, star-forming galaxy with a star formation rate of $\rm 0.004\, M_{\odot }\, yr^{-1}$, a gas mass of $10^{7.1\pm 0.1} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$, and a stellar mass of $10^{7.0\pm 0.3} \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot}$. The interaction between ESO 184−G82 and GALJ193510-524947 is evident from the extended gaseous structure between the two galaxies in the GMRT H i 21 cm map. We find a ring of high column density H i gas, passing through the actively star-forming regions of ESO 184−G82 and the GRB location. This ring lends support to the picture in which ESO 184−G82 is interacting with GALJ193510-524947. The massive stars in GALJ193510-524947 have similar ages to those in star-forming regions in ESO 184−G82, also suggesting that the interaction may have triggered star formation in both galaxies. The gas and star formation properties of ESO 184−G82 favour a head-on collision with GALJ193510-524947 rather than a classical tidal interaction. We perform state-of-the-art simulations of dwarf–dwarf mergers and confirm that the observed properties of ESO 184−G82 can be reproduced by collision with a small companion galaxy. This is a very clear case of interaction in a gamma-ray burst host galaxy and of interaction-driven star formation giving rise to a gamma-ray burst in a dense environment.

C ii] 158 μm Emission from z ∼ 4 H i Absorption-selected Galaxies

Abstract We report on a search for the [C ii] 158 μm emission line from galaxies associated with four high-metallicity damped Lyα absorbers (DLAs) at z ∼ 4 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We detect [C ii] 158 μm emission from galaxies at the DLA redshift in three fields, with one field showing two [C ii] 158 μm emitters. Combined with previous results, we now have detected [C ii] 158 μm emission from five of six galaxies associated with targeted high-metallicity DLAs at z ∼ 4. The galaxies have relatively large impact parameters, ≈16–45 kpc, [C ii] 158 μm line luminosities of (0.36–30) × 108 L ⊙, and rest-frame far-infrared properties similar to those of luminous Lyman-break galaxies, with star formation rates of ≈7–110 M ⊙ yr−1. Comparing the absorption and emission line profiles yields a remarkable agreement between the line centroids, indicating that the DLA traces gas at velocities similar to that of the [C ii] 158 μm emission. This disfavors a scenario where the DLA arises from gas in a companion galaxy. These observations highlight ALMA’s unique ability to uncover a high-redshift galaxy population that has largely eluded detection for decades.

AGN photoionization of gas in companion galaxies as a probe of AGN radiation in time and direction

We consider AGN photoionization of gas in companion galaxies (cross-ionization) as a way to sample the intensity of AGN radiation in both direction and time, independent of the gas properties of the AGN host galaxies. From an initial set of 212 AGN+companion systems, identified with the help of Galaxy Zoo participants, we obtained long-slit optical spectra of 32 pairs which were a priori likely to show cross-ionization based on projected separation or angular extent of the companion. From emission-line ratios, 10 of these systems are candidates for cross-ionization, roughly the fraction expected if most AGN have ionization cones with 70-degree opening angles. Among these, Was 49 remains the strongest nearby candidate. NGC 5278/9 and UGC 6081 are dual-AGN systems with tidal debris, complicating identification of cross-ionization. The two weak AGN in the NGC 5278/9 system ionize gas filaments to a projected radius 14 kpc from each galaxy. In UGC 6081, an irregular high-ionization emission region encompasses both AGN, extending more than 15 kpc from each. The observed AGN companion galaxies with and without signs of external AGN photoionization have similar distributions in estimated incident AGN flux, suggesting that geometry of escaping radiation or long-term variability control this facet of the AGN environment. This parallels conclusions for luminous QSOs based on the proximity effect among Lyman-alpha absorbers. In some galaxies, mismatch between spectroscopic classifications in the common BPT diagram and the intensity of weaker He II and [Ne V] emission lines highlights the limits of common classifications in low-metallicity environments.

A SOFIA Survey of [C ii] in the Galaxy M51. I. [C ii] as a Tracer of Star Formation

Abstract We present a [C ii] 158 μm map of the entire M51 (including M51b) grand design spiral galaxy observed with the Far Infrared Field-Imaging Line Spectrometer (FIFI-LS) instrument on board the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). We compare the [C ii] emission with the total far-infrared (TIR) intensity and star formation rate (SFR) surface density maps (derived using Hα and 24 μm emission) to study the relationship between [C ii] and the star formation activity in a variety of environments within M51 on scales of 16″ corresponding to ∼660 pc. We find that [C ii] and the SFR surface density are well correlated in the central, spiral arm, and inter-arm regions. The correlation is in good agreement with that found for a larger sample of nearby galaxies at kpc scales. We find that the SFR, and [C ii] and TIR luminosities in M51, are dominated by the extended emission in M51's disk. The companion galaxy M51b, however, shows a deficit of [C ii] emission compared with the TIR emission and SFR surface density, with [C ii] emission detected only in the SW part of this galaxy. The [C ii] deficit is associated with an enhanced dust temperature in this galaxy. We interpret the faint [C ii] emission in M51b to be a result of suppressed star formation in this galaxy, while the bright mid- and far-infrared emission, which drive the TIR and SFR values, are powered by other mechanisms. A similar but less-pronounced effect is seen at the location of the black hole in M51's center. The observed [C ii] deficit in M51b suggests that this galaxy is a valuable laboratory to study the origin of the apparent [C ii] deficit observed in ultra-luminous galaxies.

No Evidence for Enhanced [O iii] 88 μm Emission in a z ∼ 6 Quasar Compared to Its Companion Starbursting Galaxy

Abstract We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array band 8 observations of the [O iii] 88 μm line and the underlying thermal infrared continuum emission in the z = 6.08 quasar CFHQS J2100–1715 and its dust-obscured starburst companion galaxy (projected distance: ∼60 kpc). Each galaxy hosts dust-obscured star formation at rates >100 M ⊙ yr−1, but only the quasar shows evidence for an accreting 109 M ⊙ black hole. Therefore we can compare the properties of the interstellar medium in distinct galactic environments in two physically associated objects, ∼1 Gyr after the big bang. Bright [O iii] 88 μm emission from ionized gas is detected in both systems; the positions and linewidths are consistent with earlier [C ii] measurements, indicating that both lines trace the same gravitational potential on galactic scales. The [O iii] 88 μm/far-infrared (FIR) luminosity ratios in both sources fall in the upper range observed in local luminous infrared galaxies of similar dust temperature, although the ratio of the quasar is smaller than in the companion. This suggests that gas ionization by the quasar (expected to lead to strong optical [O iii] 5008 Å emission) does not dominantly determine the quasar’s FIR [O iii] 88 μm luminosity. Both the inferred number of photons needed for the creation of O++ and the typical line ratios can be accounted for without invoking extreme (top-heavy) stellar initial mass functions in the starbursts of both sources.

Resonant behavior and unpredictability in forced chaotic scattering

Chaotic scattering in open Hamiltonian systems is a topic of fundamental interest in physics, which has been mainly studied in the purely conservative case. However, the effect of weak perturbations in this kind of systems has been an important focus of interest in the last decade. In a previous work, the authors studied the effects of a periodic forcing in the decay law of the survival probability, and they characterized the global properties of escape dynamics. In the present paper, we add two important issues in the effects of periodic forcing: the fractal dimension of the set of singularities in the scattering function, and the unpredictability of the exit basins, which is estimated by using the concept of basin entropy. Both the fractal dimension and the basin entropy exhibit a resonant-like decrease as the forcing frequency increases. We provide a theoretical reasoning, which could justify this decreasing in the fractality near the main resonant frequency, that appears for $\omega \approx 1$. We attribute the decrease in the basin entropy to the reduction of the area occupied by the KAM islands and the basin boundaries when the frequency is close to the resonance. Finally, the decay rate of the exponential decay law shows a minimum value of the amplitude, $A_c$, which reflects the complete destruction of the KAM islands in the resonance. We expect that this work could be potentially useful in research fields related to chaotic Hamiltonian pumps, oscillations in chemical reactions and companion galaxies, among others.

Mergers drive a powerful dusty quasar

Distant Galaxies Massive galaxies in the early Universe host supermassive black holes at their centers. When material falls toward the black hole, it releases energy and is observed as a quasar. Astronomers found a population of powerful distant quasars that are obscured by dust, but it has been unclear how they are formed. Diaz-Santos et al. observed the dust-obscured quasar WISE J224607.56-052634.9 at submillimeter wavelengths, finding three small companion galaxies connected to the quasar by bridges of gas and dust. They inferred that galaxy mergers can provide both the raw material to power a quasar and large quantities of dust to obscure it. Science , this issue p. [1034][1] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aap7605

Galaxy Mergers up to Z < 2.5. I. The Star Formation Properties of Merging Galaxies at Separations of 3–15 kpc

Abstract We present a study of the influence of galaxy mergers on star formation at 0.3 < z < 2.5. Major mergers are selected from the CANDELS/3D-HST catalog using a peak-finding algorithm. Mergers have projected galaxy nucleus separation of their members between 3 and 15 kpc. We compare the star formation activity in merging and nonmerging galaxies and find no significant differences. We find that only 12% of the galaxies in major mergers (in which both galaxies have ) are starbursting (i.e., with star formation rate (SFR) above the main sequence of star-forming galaxies by >0.5 dex). Merging galaxies, which include galaxies with lower masses, show a higher fraction of starbursting galaxies (20%). The low fraction of starbursting merging galaxies in this sample suggests that at galaxy nucleus separations of 3–15 kpc merging galaxies are still in an early stage and are yet to reach the maximum level of star formation activity. Furthermore, the level of star formation enhancement and its duration could be arguably reduced compared to local mergers, as shown by simulations of high-z mergers, and might also depend on the physical properties (such as stellar mass and gas fraction) of the merging galaxies. Finally, we compare the specific SFR between merging galaxies. Our results suggest that, as the mass of the merging galaxies increases, the star formation activity in the less massive member in the merger suffers a more dramatic impact than its companion galaxy.

The environments of luminous radio-WISE selected infrared galaxies

We have observed the environments of a population of 33 heavily dust obscured, ultra-luminous, high-redshift galaxies, selected using WISE and NVSS at $z>$1.3 with the Infra-Red Array Camera on the $Spitzer$ Space Telescope over $\rm5.12\,'\times5.12\,'$ fields. Colour selections are used to quantify any potential overdensities of companion galaxies in these fields. We find no significant excess of galaxies with the standard colour selection for IRAC colours of $\rm[3.6]-[4.5]>-0.1$ consistent with galaxies at $z>$1.3 across the whole fields with respect to wide-area $Spitzer$ comparison fields, but there is a $\rm>2\sigma$ statistical excess within $\rm0.25\,'$ of the central radio-WISE galaxy. Using a colour selection of $\rm[3.6]-[4.5]>0.4$, 0.5 magnitudes redder than the standard method of selecting galaxies at $z>$1.3, we find a significant overdensity, in which $\rm76\%$ ($\rm33\%$) of the 33 fields have a surface density greater than the $\rm3\sigma$ ($\rm5\sigma$) level. There is a statistical excess of these redder galaxies within $\rm0.5\,'$, rising to a central peak $\rm\sim2$--4 times the average density. This implies that these galaxies are statistically linked to the radio-WISE selected galaxy, indicating similar structures to those traced by red galaxies around radio-loud AGN.

The multiple merger assembly of a hyperluminous obscured quasar at redshift 4.6.

Galaxy mergers and gas accretion from the cosmic web drove the growth of galaxies and their central black holes at early epochs. We report spectroscopic imaging of a multiple merger event in the most luminous known galaxy, WISE J224607.56-052634.9 (W2246-0526), a dust-obscured quasar at redshift 4.6, 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang. Far-infrared dust continuum observations show three galaxy companions around W2246-0526 with disturbed morphologies, connected by streams of dust likely produced by the dynamical interaction. The detection of tidal dusty bridges shows that W2246-0526 is accreting its neighbors, suggesting that merger activity may be a dominant mechanism through which the most luminous galaxies simultaneously obscure and feed their central supermassive black holes.

ALMA observations of massive molecular gas reservoirs in dusty early-type galaxies

Unresolved gas and dust observations show a surprising diversity in the amount of interstellar matter in early-type galaxies. Using ALMA observations we resolve the ISM in z$\sim$0.05 early-type galaxies. From a large sample of early-type galaxies detected in the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) we selected five of the dustiest cases, with dust masses M$_d\sim$several$\times10^7$M$_\odot$, with the aim of mapping their submillimetre continuum and $^{12}$CO(2-1) line emission distributions. These observations reveal molecular gas disks. There is a lack of associated, extended continuum emission in these ALMA observations, most likely because it is resolved out or surface brightness limited, if the dust distribution is as extended as the CO gas. However, two galaxies have central continuum ALMA detections. An additional, slightly offset, continuum source is revealed in one case, which may have contributed to confusion in the Herschel fluxes. Serendipitous continuum detections further away in the ALMA field are found in another case. Large and massive rotating molecular gas disks are mapped in three of our targets, reaching a few$\times10^{9}$M$_\odot$. One of these shows evidence of kinematic deviations from a pure rotating disc. The fields of our two remaining targets contain only smaller, weak CO sources, slightly offset from the optical galaxy centres. These may be companion galaxies seen in ALMA observations, or background objects. These heterogeneous findings in a small sample of dusty early-type galaxies reveal the need for more such high spatial resolution studies, to understand statistically how dust and gas are related in early-type galaxies.

The Origin of Double-peaked Narrow Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei. IV. Association with Galaxy Mergers

Abstract Double-peaked narrow emission lines in active galactic nucleus (AGN) spectra can be produced by AGN outflows, rotation, or dual AGNs, which are AGN pairs in ongoing galaxy mergers. Consequently, double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines are useful tracers of the coevolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes, as driven by AGN feedback and AGN fueling. We investigate this concept further with follow-up optical longslit observations of a sample of 95 Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies that have double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines. Based on a kinematic analysis of the longslit spectra, we confirm previous work that finds that the majority of double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines are associated with outflows. We also find that eight of the galaxies have companion galaxies with line-of-sight velocity separations <500 km s−1 and physical separations <30 kpc. Since we find evidence of AGNs in both galaxies, all eight of these systems are compelling dual AGN candidates. Galaxies with double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines occur in such galaxy mergers at least twice as often as typical active galaxies. Finally, we conclude that at least 3% of SDSS galaxies with double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines are found in galaxy mergers where both galaxies are resolved in SDSS imaging.

The impact of bars and interactions on optically selected AGNs in spiral galaxies

Aims. With the aim of performing a suitable comparison of the internal process of galactic bars with respect to the external effect of interactions on driving gas toward the inner most region of the galaxies, we explored and compared the efficiency of both mechanisms on central nuclear activity in optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in spiral galaxies. Methods. We selected homogeneous samples of barred AGNs and active objects residing in pair systems, derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In order to carry out a reliable comparison of both samples (AGNs in barred hosts in isolation and in galaxy pairs), we selected spiral AGN galaxies with similar distributions of redshift, magnitude, stellar mass, color and stellar age population from both catalogs. With the goal of providing an appropriate quantification of the influence of strong bars and interactions on nuclear activity, we also constructed a suitable control sample of unbarred spiral AGNs without a companion and with similar host properties to the other two samples. Results. We found that barred optically selected AGNs show an excess of nuclear activity (as derived from the Lum[OIII]) and accretion rate onto a central black hole (ℛ) with respect to AGNs in pairs. In addition, both samples show an excess of high values of Lum[OIII] and ℛ with respect to unbarred AGNs in the control sample. We also found that the fractions of AGNs with powerful nuclear activity and high accretion rates increase toward more massive hosts with bluer colors and younger stellar populations. Moreover, AGNs with bars exhibit a higher fraction of galaxies with powerful Lum[OIII] and efficient ℛ with respect to AGN galaxies inhabiting pair systems, in bins of different galaxy properties. Regarding AGNs belonging to pair systems, we found that the central nuclear activity is remarkably dependent on the galaxy pair companion features. The Lum[OIII] for AGNs in pairs is clearly enhanced when the galaxy companion exhibits a bright and more massive host with high metallicity, blue color, efficient star formation activity and young stellar population. The results of this work reveal an important capacity of both mechanisms, bars and interactions, to transport material towards the galaxy central regions. In this context, it should also be noted that the internal process of the bar is more efficient at improving the central nuclear activity in AGN objects than that corresponding to the external mechanism of the galaxy–galaxy interactions.

Ring galaxies in the EAGLE hydrodynamical simulations

We study the formation and evolution of ring galaxies in the Evolution and Assembly of GaLaxies and their Environments (EAGLE) simulations. We use the largest reference model Ref-L100N1504, a cubic cosmological volume of 100 cMpc on a side, to identify and characterize these systems through cosmic time. The number density of ring galaxies in EAGLE is in broad agreement with the observations. The vast majority of ring galaxies identified in EAGLE (⁠|$83\,$|per cent) have an interaction origin, i.e. form when one or more companion galaxies drop-through a disc galaxy. The remainder (⁠|$17\,$|per cent) have very long-lived ring morphologies (>2 Gyr) and host strong bars. Ring galaxies are H i-rich galaxies, yet display inefficient star formation activity and tend to reside in the green valley particularly at |$z\, \gtrsim \, 0.5$|⁠. This inefficiency is mainly due to the low pressure and metallicity of their interstellar medium (ISM) compared with the ISM of similar star-forming galaxies. We find that the interaction(s) is responsible for decreasing the ISM pressure by causing the ISM gas to flow from the inner regions to the outer disc, where the ring feature forms. At a fixed radius, the star formation efficiency of ring galaxies is indistinguishable from their star-forming counterparts, and thus the main reason for their integrated lower efficiency is the different gas surface density profiles. Since galaxy morphologies are not used to tune the parameters in hydrodynamical simulations, the experiment performed here demonstrates the success of the current numerical models in EAGLE.

The WISSH quasars project

We present an ALMA high-resolution (0.18″ × 0.21″) observation of the 840 μm continuum and [CII] λ157.74 μm line emission in the WISE-SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) quasi-stellar object (QSO) J1015+0020, at z ∼ 4.4. Our analysis reveals an exceptional overdensity of [CII]-emitting companions with a very small (<150 km s−1) velocity shift with respect to the QSO redshift. We report the discovery of the closest companion observed so far in submillimetre observations of high-z QSOs. It is only 2.2 kpc distant and merging with J1015+0020, while two other [CII] emitters are found at 8 and 17 kpc. Two strong continuum emitters are also detected at <3.5 arcsec from the QSO. They are likely associated with the same overdense structure of J1015+0020, as they exceed by a factor of 100 the number of expected sources, considering the log(N)–log(S) at 850 μm. The host galaxy of J1015+0020 shows a star formation rate (SFR) of about 100 M⊙ yr−1, while the total SFR of the QSO and its companion galaxies is a factor of ∼10 higher, indicating that substantial stellar mass assembly at early epochs may have taken place in the QSO satellites. For J1015+0020 we computed a black hole mass MBH ∼ 6 × 109 M⊙. As we resolve the [CII] emission of the QSO, we can compute a dynamical mass of Mdyn ∼ 4 × 1010 M⊙. This translates into an extreme ratio Mdyn/MBH ∼ 7, i.e. two orders of magnitude smaller than what is typically observed in local galaxies. The total stellar mass of the QSO host galaxy plus the [CII] emitters in the ALMA field of view already exceeds 1011 M⊙ at z ∼ 4.4. These sources will likely merge and develop into a giant galaxy of ∼1.3 × 1012 M⊙. Under the assumption of constant Ṁacc or λEdd equal to the observed values, we find that the growth timescale of the host galaxy of J1015+0020 is comparable or even shorter than that inferred for the SMBH.