Radio Interferometric Observations Research Articles

Impact of the Epoch of Reionization sources on the 21-cm bispectrum

The morphology of the 21-cm signal emitted by the neutral hydrogen present in the intergalactic medium (IGM) during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR) depends both on the properties of the sources of ionizing radiation and on the underlying physical processes within the IGM. Variation in the morphology of the IGM 21-cm signal due to the different sources of the EoR is expected to have a significant impact on the 21-cm bispectrum, which is one of the crucial observable statistics that can evaluate the non-Gaussianity present in the signal and which can be estimated from radio interferometric observations of the EoR. Here we present the 21-cm bispectrum for different reionization scenarios assuming different simulated models for the sources of reionization. We also demonstrate how well the 21-cm bispectrum can distinguish between different IGM 21-cm signal morphologies, arising due to the differences in the reionization scenarios, which will help us shed light on the nature of the sources of ionizing photons. Our estimated large-scale bispectrum for all unique k-triangle shapes shows a significant difference in the magnitude and sign across different reionization scenarios. Additionally, our focused analysis of bispectrum for a few specific k-triangle shapes (e.g. squeezed-limit, linear, and shapes in the vicinity of the squeezed-limit) shows that the large scale 21-cm bispectrum can distinguish between reionization scenarios that show inside-out, outside-in and a combination of inside-out and outside-in morphologies. These results highlight the potential of using the 21-cm bispectrum for constraining different reionization scenarios.

Constraining the coronal properties of AB Dor in the radio regime

ABSTRACT We present a multiwavelength study of AB Doradus, combining modelling that incorporates a spectropolarimetric magnetic field map with 8.4 GHz radio interferometry to measure the coronal extent and density of this young star. We use the surface magnetic field map to produce a 3D extrapolation of AB Dor’s coronal magnetic field. From this model we create synthetic radio images throughout the stellar rotation period which we can compare with the interferometric radio observations. Our models reproduce the two-lobe structure seen in the radio observations. We successfully fit the observed flux magnitude and lobe separation with our model. We conclude that that the features seen in the radio images are a result of centrifugal containment of hot gas at the peak of closed magnetic loops, and that the corona of AB Dor extends to about 8–10 stellar radii, making it much more extended than the present-day solar corona.

Towards 21-cm intensity mapping at z = 2.28 with uGMRT using the tapered gridded estimator – IV. Wide-band analysis

ABSTRACT We present a Wide-band tapered gridded estimator (TGE), which incorporates baseline migration and variation of the primary beam pattern for neutral hydrogen ($H\, {\small I}$) 21-cm intensity mapping (IM) with large frequency bandwidth radio-interferometric observations. Here we have analysed $394-494 \, {\rm MHz}$ (z = 1.9–2.6) uGMRT data to estimate the Multifrequency Angular Power Spectrum (MAPS) Cℓ(Δν) from which we have removed the foregrounds using the polynomial fitting (PF) and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) methods developed in our earlier work. Using the residual Cℓ(Δν) to estimate the mean-squared 21-cm brightness temperature fluctuation Δ2(k), we find that this is consistent with 0 ± 2σ in several k bins. The resulting 2σ upper limit $\Delta ^2(k) \lt (4.68)^2 \, \rm {mK^2}$ at $k=0.219\, \rm {Mpc^{-1}}$ is nearly 15 times tighter than earlier limits obtained from a smaller bandwidth ($24.4 \, {\rm MHz}$) of the same data. The 2σ upper limit $[\Omega _{H\, {\small I}} b_{H\, {\small I}}] \lt 1.01 \times 10^{-2}$ is within an order of magnitude of the value expected from independent estimates of the $H\, {\small I}$ mass density $\Omega _{H\, {\small I}}$ and the $H\, {\small I}$ bias $b_{H\, {\small I}}$. The techniques used here can be applied to other telescopes and frequencies, including $\sim 150 \, {\rm MHz}$ Epoch of Reionization observations.

Kinematic signatures of planet–disk interactions in vertical shear instability-turbulent protoplanetary disks

Context. Planets are thought to form inside weakly ionized regions of protoplanetary disks, where turbulence creates ideal conditions for solid growth. However, the nature of this turbulence is still uncertain. In fast cooling parts of this zone the vertical shear instability (VSI) can operate, inducing a low level of gas turbulence and large-scale gas motions. Resolving the kinematic signatures of active VSI could reveal the origin of turbulence in planet-forming disk regions. However, an exploration of kinematic signatures of the interplay between VSI and forming planets is needed for a correct interpretation of radio interferometric observations. A robust detection of VSI would lead the way to a deeper understanding of the impact of gas turbulence on planet formation. Aims. The objective of this study is to explore the effect of VSI on the disk substructures triggered by an embedded fairly massive planet. We focus on the impact of this interplay on CO kinematic observations with the ALMA interferometer. Methods. We conducted global 3D hydrodynamical simulations of VSI-unstable disks with and without embedded massive planets, exploring Saturn- and Jupiter-mass cases. We studied the effect of planets on the VSI gas dynamics, and made a comparison with viscous disks. Post-processing the simulations with a radiative transfer code, we examined the kinematic signatures expected in CO molecular line emission, varying disk inclination. Further, we simulated deep ALMA high-resolution observations of our synthetic images, to test the observability of VSI and planetary signatures. Results. The embedded planet produces a damping of the VSI along a radial region, most effective at the disk midplane. For the Saturn case, the VSI modes are distorted by the planet’s spirals producing mixed kinematic signatures. For the Jupiter case, the planet’s influence dominates the overall disk gas kinematics. Conclusions. The presence of massive planets embedded in the disk can weaken the VSI large-scale gas flows, limiting its observability in CO kinematic observations with ALMA.

How to Turn Jets into Cylinders near Supermassive Black Holes in 3D General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations

Accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) produce highly magnetized relativistic jets that tend to collimate gradually as they propagate outward. However, recent radio interferometric observations of the 3C 84 galaxy reveal a stunning, cylindrical jet already at several hundred SMBH gravitational radii, r ≳ 350r g. We explore how such extreme collimation emerges via a suite of 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider an SMBH surrounded by a magnetized torus immersed in a constant-density ambient medium that starts at the edge of the SMBH sphere of influence, chosen to be much larger than the SMBH gravitational radius, r B = 103 r g. We find that radiatively inefficient accretion flows (e.g., M87) produce winds that collimate the jets into parabolas near the black hole. After the disk winds stop collimating the jets at r ≲ r B, they turn conical. Once outside r B, the jets run into the ambient medium and form backflows that collimate the jets into cylinders some distance beyond r B. Interestingly, for radiatively efficient accretion, as in 3C 84, the radiative cooling saps the energy out of the disk winds; at early times, they cannot efficiently collimate the jets, which skip the initial parabolic collimation stage, start out conical near the SMBH, and turn into cylinders already at r ≃ 300r g, as observed in 3C 84. Over time, the jet power remains approximately constant, whereas the mass accretion rate increases; the winds grow in strength and start to collimate the jets, which become quasi-parabolic near the base, and the transition point to a nearly cylindrical jet profile moves outward while remaining inside r B.

Milliarcsecond-scale radio structure of the most distant BL Lac object candidate at redshift 6.57

Context. The existence of accreting supermassive black holes of up to billions of solar masses at early cosmological epochs (in the context of this work, redshifts z ≳ 6) requires very fast growth rates that are challenging to explain. The presence of a relativistic jet can be a direct indication of activity and accretion status in active galactic nuclei (AGN), constraining the radiative properties of these extreme objects. However, known jetted AGN beyond z ∼ 6 are still very rare. Aims. The radio-emitting AGN J2331+1129 has recently been claimed as a candidate BL Lac object at redshift z = 6.57 based on its synchrotron-dominated emission spectrum and a lack of ultraviolet or optical emission lines. It is a promising candidate for the highest-redshift blazar known to date. The aim of the observations described here is to support or refute the blazar classification of this peculiar source. Methods. We performed high-resolution radio interferometric imaging observations of J2331+1129 using the Very Long Baseline Array at 1.6 and 4.9 GHz in February 2022. Results. The images reveal a compact but slightly resolved, flat-spectrum core feature at both frequencies, indicating that the total radio emission is produced by a compact jet and originates from within a central region of ∼10 pc in diameter. While these details are consistent with the radio properties of a BL Lac object, the inferred brightness temperatures are at least an order of magnitude lower than expected for a Doppler-boosted radio jet, which casts doubt on the high-redshift BL Lac identification.

Constraining the X-ray heating and reionization using 21-cm power spectra with Marginal Neural Ratio Estimation

ABSTRACT Cosmic Dawn (CD) and Epoch of Reionization (EoR) are epochs of the Universe which host invaluable information about the cosmology and astrophysics of X-ray heating and hydrogen reionization. Radio interferometric observations of the 21-cm line at high redshifts have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the Universe during this time. However, modelling the evolution of these epochs is particularly challenging due to the complex interplay of many physical processes. This makes it difficult to perform the conventional statistical analysis using the likelihood-based Markov-Chain Monte Carlo (mcmc) methods, which scales poorly with the dimensionality of the parameter space. In this paper, we show how the Simulation-Based Inference through Marginal Neural Ratio Estimation (mnre) provides a step towards evading these issues. We use 21cmFAST to model the 21-cm power spectrum during CD–EoR with a six-dimensional parameter space. With the expected thermal noise from the Square Kilometre Array, we are able to accurately recover the posterior distribution for the parameters of our model at a significantly lower computational cost than the conventional likelihood-based methods. We further show how the same training data set can be utilized to investigate the sensitivity of the model parameters over different redshifts. Our results support that such efficient and scalable inference techniques enable us to significantly extend the modelling complexity beyond what is currently achievable with conventional mcmc methods.

What Drives the Ionized Gas Outflows in Radio-Quiet AGN?

We review the mechanisms driving the ionized gas outflows in radio-quiet (RQ) AGN. Although it constitutes ∼90% of the AGN population, what drives these outflows in these AGNs remains an open question. High-resolution imaging and integral field unit (IFU) observation is key to spatially resolving these outflows, whereas radio observations are important to comprehend the underlying radiative processes. Radio interferometric observations have detected linear, collimated structures on the hundreds of pc scale in RQ AGN, which may be very similar to the extended radio jets in powerful galaxies. Proper motions measured in some objects are sub-relativistic. Other processes, such as synchrotron radiation from shock-accelerated gas around the outflows could give rise to radio emissions as well. Near the launching region, these outflows may be driven by the thermal energy of the accretion disk and exhibit free–free emission. IFU observations on the other hand have detected evidence of both winds and jets and the outflows driven by them in radio-quiet AGN. Some examples include nearby AGN such as Mrk 1044 and HE 1353-1917. An IFU study of nearby (z <0.06) RQ AGN has found that these outflows may be related to their radio properties on <100 pc scale, rather than their accretion properties. Recent JWST observations of RQ AGN XID 2028 have revealed that radio jets and wind could inflate bubbles, create cavities, and trigger star formation. Future high-resolution multi-wavelength observations and numerical simulations taking account of both jets and winds are hence essential to understand the complex interaction between radio-quiet AGN and the host from sub-pc to kpc scales.

Scalable precision wide-field imaging in radio interferometry: I. uSARA validated on ASKAP data

ABSTRACT As Part I of a paper series showcasing a new imaging framework, we consider the recently proposed unconstrained Sparsity Averaging Reweighted Analysis (uSARA) optimization algorithm for wide-field, high-resolution, high-dynamic range, monochromatic intensity imaging. We reconstruct images from real radio-interferometric observations obtained with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and present these results in comparison to the widely used, state-of-the-art imager WSClean . Selected fields come from the ASKAP Early Science and Evolutionary Map of the Universe (EMU) Pilot surveys and contain several complex radio sources: the merging cluster system Abell 3391-95, the merging cluster SPT-CL 2023-5535, and many extended, or bent-tail, radio galaxies, including the X-shaped radio galaxy PKS 2014-558 and ‘the dancing ghosts’, known collectively as PKS 2130-538. The modern framework behind uSARA utilizes parallelization and automation to solve for the w -effect and efficiently compute the measurement operator, allowing for wide-field reconstruction over the full field-of-view of individual ASKAP beams (up to ∼3.3° each). The precision capability of uSARA produces images with both super-resolution and enhanced sensitivity to diffuse components, surpassing traditional CLEAN algorithms that typically require a compromise between such yields. Our resulting monochromatic uSARA-ASKAP images of the selected data highlight both extended, diffuse emission and compact, filamentary emission at very high resolution (up to 2.2 arcsec), revealing never-before-seen structure. Here we present a validation of our uSARA-ASKAP images by comparing the morphology of reconstructed sources, measurements of diffuse flux, and spectral index maps with those obtained from images made with WSClean .

The Celestial Reference Frame at K Band: Imaging. I. The First 28 Epochs

We present K-band (24 GHz) images of 731 compact extragalactic radio sources with submilliarcsecond resolution, based on radio interferometric observations made with the Very Long Baseline Array of 10 telescopes during 29 day long sessions spanning from 2015 to 2018 and recorded at 2048 Mbps. Many of these sources are imaged with submilliarcsecond resolution for the first time at frequencies above X band (8 GHz). From each of the K-band images, we derive the following source properties: peak brightness, core and total flux density, the ratio of peak and core to total flux (compactness measure), radial source extent, structure index, source size, and jet direction. The vast majority of sources are imaged at multiple epochs, providing insights into their temporal behavior. The use of K band was motivated by the fact that the sources are generally intrinsically more compact at higher frequencies, as well as by the factor of 3 improvement in interferometer resolution relative to the historically standard S/X band (2.3/8.4 GHz) used for a large amount of reference frame and calibrator work. Lastly, as most of the sources imaged here are in the K-band component of the third International Celestial Reference Frame, these images serve to characterize the objects used in that International Astronomical Union standard.

Intensity mapping of post-reionization 21-cm signal and its cross-correlations as a probe of f(R) gravity

We propose the intensity mapping of the redshifted Hi 21-cm signal from the post-reionization epoch as a cosmological probe of f(R) gravity. We consider the Hu–Sawicki family of f(R) gravity models characterized by a single parameter $$f_{,R0}$$ . The f(R) modification to gravity affects the post-reionization 21-cm power spectrum through the change in the growth rate of density fluctuations. We find that a radio interferometric observation with a SKA1-mid-like radio telescope in both auto-correlation and cross-correlation with galaxy weak-lensing and Lyman- $$\alpha $$ forest may distinguish f(R) models from $$\Lambda $$ CDM cosmology at a precision, which is competitive with other probes of f(R) gravity.

Arduino-based high-frequency radio telescope and observations

This is a pilot project undertaken by the UG and PG students of the Department of Physics, St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Kolkata under the supervision of Dr. Suparna Roychowd hury and Dr. Shibaji Banerjee and with the assistance of Mr. Bappaditya Manna, Technical Officerof Father Eugene Lafont Observatory (FELO) on building a low-cost high-frequency radiotelescope using Arduino. This paper presents the design of the smallArduino-based radio telescope recently developed by the group to observe radio emission at high frequencies (12-18GHz)and the initialobservations including detection of geostationary andnon-geostationary satellites. Preliminary results demonstrate the effectiveness of this Arduino-based radio telescope in the eraof large radio telescopes that are inaccessible to students. As the radio telescope operates in ahigh-frequency range, it is easier to observe in city areas where Radio Frequency Interference(RFI) is a significant issue. The system can be pointed either manually or using a computerized mount to any radio source and data can be collected from a satellite finder as well asfrom Arduino micro-controller. This system can be used for a basic understanding of radioastronomy and for training purposes for University and College students at a very lowcost. Further, we would also like to extend this to a two-element radio interferometer andundertake interferometric observations of astronomical radio sources in future.

Very long baseline interferometry observations of the high-redshift blazar candidate J0141–5427

Abstract Active galactic nuclei (AGN) have been observed as far as redshift $z \sim 7$ . They are crucial in investigating the early Universe as well as the growth of supermassive black holes at their centres. Radio-loud AGN with their jets seen at a small viewing angle are called blazars and show relativistic boosting of their emission. Thus, their apparently brighter jets are easier to detect in the high-redshift Universe. DES J014132.4–542749.9 is a radio-luminous but X-ray weak blazar candidate at $z = 5$ . We conducted high-resolution radio interferometric observations of this source with the Australian Long Baseline Array at $1.7$ and $8.5$ GHz. A single, compact radio-emitting feature was detected at both frequencies with a flat radio spectrum. We derived the milliarcsecond-level accurate position of the object. The frequency dependence of its brightness temperature is similar to that of blazar sources observed at lower redshifts. Based on our observations, we can confirm its blazar nature. We compared its radio properties with those of two other similarly X-ray-weak and radio-bright AGN, and found that they show very different relativistic boosting characteristics.

A near-field treatment of aperture synthesis techniques using the Murchison Widefield Array

Abstract Typical radio interferometer observations are performed assuming the source of radiation to be in the far-field of the instrument, resulting in a two-dimensional Fourier relationship between the observed visibilities in the aperture plane and the sky brightness distribution (over a small field of view). When near-field objects are present in an observation, the standard approach applies far-field delays during correlation, resulting in loss of signal coherence for the signal from the near-field object. In this paper, we demonstrate near-field aperture synthesis techniques using a Murchison Widefield Array observation of the International Space Station (ISS), as it appears as a bright near-field object. We perform visibility phase corrections to restore coherence across the array for the near-field object (however not restoring coherence losses due to time and frequency averaging at the correlator). We illustrate the impact of the near-field corrections in the aperture plane and the sky plane. The aperture plane curves to match the curvature of the near-field wavefront, and in the sky plane near-field corrections manifest as fringe rotations at different rates as we bring the focal point of the array from infinity to the desired near-field distance. We also demonstrate the inverse scenario of inferring the line-of-sight range of the ISS by inverting the apparent curvature of the wavefront seen by the aperture. We conclude the paper by briefly discussing the limitations of the methods developed and the near-field science cases where our approach can be exploited.

The tracking tapered gridded estimator for the power spectrum from drift scan observations

ABSTRACT Intensity mapping with the redshifted 21-cm line is an emerging tool in cosmology. Drift scan observations, where the antennas are fixed to the ground and the telescope’s pointing centre (PC) changes continuously on the sky due to earth’s rotation, provide broad sky coverage and sustained instrumental stability needed for 21-cm intensity mapping. Here, we present the Tracking Tapered Grided Estimator (TTGE) to quantify the power spectrum of the sky signal estimated directly from the visibilities measured in drift scan radio interferometric observations. The TTGE uses the data from the different PC to estimate the power spectrum of the signal from a small angular region located around a fixed tracking centre (TC). The size of this angular region is decided by a suitably chosen tapering window function that serves to reduce the foreground contamination from bright sources located at large angles from the TC. It is possible to cover the angular footprint of the drift scan observations using multiple TC, and combine the estimated power spectra to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. Here, we have validated the TTGE using simulations of $154 \, {\rm MHz}$ Murchison Wide-field Array drift scan observations. We show that the TTGE can recover the input model angular power spectrum Cℓ within $20 {{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ accuracy over the ℓ range 40 < ℓ < 700.

Изучение структуры и кинематики Галактики по данным РСДБ-астрометрии мазеров и радиозвезд

In recent years, radio interferometric observations have achieved high accuracy in determining the absolute values of trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions of maser radiation sources and radio stars. The error in determining the trigonometric parallaxes of these objects averages about 10 microarcseconds, which allows us to confidently study the geometric and kinematic properties of the distribution of stars located at great distances from the Sun, up to the center of the Galaxy. This article provides an overview of the main results of studying the structure and kinematics of the Galaxy, which were obtained by various scientific teams using VLBI observations of masers and radio stars. The main attention is paid to the results of studying the Galaxy obtained by the authors of this work.

Probing Quintessence using BAO imprint on the cross-correlation of weak lensing and post-reionization H i 21 cm signal

ABSTRACT In this work, we investigate the possibility of constraining a thawing Quintessence scalar field model for dark energy. We propose using the imprint of baryon acoustic oscillation on the cross-correlation of post-reionization 21-cm signal and galaxy weak lensing convergence field to tomographically measure the angular diameter distance DA(z) and the Hubble parameter H(z). The projected errors in these quantities are then used to constrain the Quintessence model parameters. We find that independent 600 h radio interferometric observation at four observing frequencies 916, 650, 520, and 430 MHz with an SKA-1-Mid like radio telescope in cross-correlation with a deep weak lensing survey covering half the sky may measure the binned DA and H at a few per cent level of sensitivity. The Monte Carlo analysis for a power-law thawing Quientessence model gives the 1 − σ marginalized bounds on the initial slope λi, dark energy density parameter Ωϕ0 and the shape of the potential Γ at 8.63, 10.08, and $9.75{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, respectively. The constraints improve to 7.66, 4.39, and $5.86{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, respectively, when a joint analysis with supernovae and other probes is performed.

Magnetic field measurement in TMC-1C using 22.3 GHz CCS Zeeman splitting

ABSTRACT Measurement of magnetic fields in dense molecular clouds is essential for understanding the fragmentation process prior to star formation. Radio interferometric observations of CCS 22.3 GHz emission, from the starless core TMC-1C, have been carried out with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to search for Zeeman splitting of the line in order to constrain the magnetic field strength. Toward a region offset from the dust peak, we report a detection of the Zeeman splitting of the CCS 21–10 transition, with an inferred magnetic field of ∼2 mG. If we interpret the dust peak to be the core of TMC-1C, and the region where we have made a detection of the magnetic field to be the envelope, then our observed value for the magnetic field is consistent with a subcritical mass-to-flux ratio envelope around a core with supercritical mass-to-flux ratio. The ambipolar diffusion time-scale for the formation of the core is consistent with the relevant time-scale based on chemical modelling of the TMC-1C core. This work demonstrates the potential of deep CCS observation to carry out future measurements of magnetic field strengths in dense molecular clouds and, in turn, understand the role of the magnetic field in star formation.

Characterizing beam errors for radio interferometric observations of reionization

ABSTRACT A limiting systematic effect in 21-cm interferometric experiments is the chromaticity due to the coupling between the sky and the instrument. This coupling is sourced by the instrument primary beam; therefore it is important to know the beam to extremely high precision. Here, we demonstrate how known beam uncertainties can be characterized using data bases of beam models. In this introductory work, we focus on beam errors arising from physically offset and/or broken antennas within a station. We use the public code oskar to generate an ‘ideal’ SKA beam formed from 256 antennas regularly spaced in a 35-m circle, as well as a large data base of ‘perturbed’ beams sampling distributions of broken/offset antennas. We decompose the beam errors (‘ideal’ minus ‘perturbed’) using principal component analysis (PCA) and Kernel PCA (KPCA). Using 20 components, we find that PCA/KPCA can reduce the residual of the beam in our data sets by $60\!-\!90{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ compared with the assumption of an ideal beam. Using a simulated observation of the cosmic signal plus foregrounds, we find that assuming the ideal beam can result in $1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ error in the epoch of reionization (EoR) window and $10{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in the wedge of the 2D power spectrum. When PCA/KPCA is used to characterize the beam uncertainties, the error in the power spectrum shrinks to below $0.01{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in the EoR window and $\le 1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in the wedge. Our framework can be used to characterize and then marginalize over uncertainties in the beam for robust next-generation 21-cm parameter estimation.

The Energetics of the Central Engine in the Powerful Quasar 3C 298

Abstract The compact steep-spectrum radio source 3C 298 (redshift of 1.44) has the largest 178 MHz luminosity in the Third Cambridge Revised Catalogue (3CR); its radio lobes are among the most luminous in the universe. The plasma state of the radio lobes is modeled with the aid of interferometric radio observations (in particular, the new Low Frequency Array observation and archival MERLIN data) and archival single-station data. It is estimated that the long-term time-averaged jet power required to fill these lobes with leptonic plasma is Q ¯ ≈ 1.28 ± 0.51 × 10 47 erg s − 1 , rivaling the largest time-averaged jet powers from any quasar. Supporting this notion of extraordinary jet power is a 0.5–10 keV luminosity of ≈ 5.2 × 1046 erg s−1, comparable to luminous blazars, yet there is no other indication of strong relativistic beaming. We combine two new high signal-to-noise ratio optical spectroscopic observations from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope with archival Hubble Space Telescope, Two Micron All Sky Survey, and Galaxy Evolutionary Explorer data to compute a bolometric luminosity from the accretion flow of L bol ≈ 1.55 ± 0.15 × 1047 erg s−1. The ratio, Q ¯ / L bol ≈ 1 , is the approximate upper limit for quasars. Characteristic of a large Q ¯ / L bol , we find an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum that is very steep (the “EUV deficit” of powerful radio quasars relative to radio-quiet quasars), and this weak ionizing continuum is likely a contributing factor to the relatively small equivalent widths of the broad emission lines in this quasar.