EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6

article EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6 published yes Anna Christina Eilers author Ruari Mackenzie author Elia Pizzati author Jorryt J Matthee author 7439a258-f3c0-11ec-9501-9df22fe067200000-0003-2871-127X Joseph F. Hennawi author Haowen Zhang author Rongmon Bordoloi author Daichi Kashino author Simon J. Lilly author Rohan P. Naidu author Robert A. Simcoe author Minghao Yue author Carlos S. Frenk author John C. Helly author Matthieu Schaller author Joop Schaye author JoMa department Young galaxies as tracers and agents of cosmic reionization project We expect luminous (M 1450 ≲ −26.5) high-redshift quasars to trace the highest-density peaks in the early Universe. Here, we present observations of four z ≳ 6 quasar fields using JWST/NIRCam in the imaging and wide-field slitless spectroscopy mode and report a wide range in the number of detected [O iii]-emitting galaxies in the quasars’ environments, ranging between a density enhancement of δ ≈ 65 within a 2 cMpc radius—one of the largest protoclusters during the Epoch of Reionization discovered to date—to a density contrast consistent with zero, indicating the presence of a UV-luminous quasar in a region comparable to the average density of the Universe. By measuring the two-point cross-correlation function of quasars and their surrounding galaxies, as well as the galaxy autocorrelation function, we infer a correlation length of quasars at 〈z〉 = 6.25 of r 0 QQ = 22.0 − 2.9 + 3.0 cMpc h − 1 , while we obtain a correlation length of the [O iii]-emitting galaxies of r 0 GG = 4.1 ± 0.3 cMpc h − 1 . By comparing the correlation functions to dark-matter-only simulations we estimate the minimum mass of the quasars’ host dark matter halos to be log 10 ( M halo , min / M ⊙ ) = 12.43 − 0.15 + 0.13 (and log 10 ( M halo , min [ OIII ] / M ⊙ ) = 10.56 − 0.03 + 0.05 for the [O iii] emitters), indicating that (a) luminous quasars do not necessarily reside within the most overdense regions in the early Universe, and that (b) the UV-luminous duty cycle of quasar activity at these redshifts is f duty ≪ 1. Such short quasar activity timescales challenge our understanding of early supermassive black hole growth and provide evidence for highly dust-obscured growth phases or episodic, radiatively inefficient accretion rates. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/18494/18496/2024_AstrophysicalJour_Eilers.pdf application/pdfno IOP Publishing2024 eng Astrophysical Journal 0004-637X 1538-4357 00133887710000110.3847/1538-4357/ad778b 9742 Eilers AC, Mackenzie R, Pizzati E, Matthee JJ, Hennawi JF, Zhang H, Bordoloi R, Kashino D, Lilly SJ, Naidu RP, Simcoe RA, Yue M, Frenk CS, Helly JC, Schaller M, Schaye J. 2024. EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6. Astrophysical Journal. 974(2), 275. A. C. Eilers et al., “EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6,” Astrophysical Journal, vol. 974, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2024. Eilers, A. C., Mackenzie, R., Pizzati, E., Matthee, J. J., Hennawi, J. F., Zhang, H., … Schaye, J. (2024). EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6. Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b</a> Eilers, Anna Christina, Ruari Mackenzie, Elia Pizzati, Jorryt J Matthee, Joseph F. Hennawi, Haowen Zhang, Rongmon Bordoloi, et al. “EIGER. VI. The Correlation Function, Host Halo Mass, and Duty Cycle of Luminous Quasars at z ≳ 6.” Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing, 2024. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b</a>. Eilers, Anna Christina, et al. “EIGER. VI. The Correlation Function, Host Halo Mass, and Duty Cycle of Luminous Quasars at z ≳ 6.” Astrophysical Journal, vol. 974, no. 2, 275, IOP Publishing, 2024, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b">10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b</a>. Eilers AC, Mackenzie R, Pizzati E, et al. EIGER. VI. The correlation function, host halo mass, and duty cycle of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6. Astrophysical Journal. 2024;974(2). doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b">10.3847/1538-4357/ad778b</a> A.C. Eilers, R. Mackenzie, E. Pizzati, J.J. Matthee, J.F. Hennawi, H. Zhang, R. Bordoloi, D. Kashino, S.J. Lilly, R.P. Naidu, R.A. Simcoe, M. Yue, C.S. Frenk, J.C. Helly, M. Schaller, J. Schaye, Astrophysical Journal 974 (2024). 184942024-11-03T23:01:45Z2025-09-08T14:29:05Z