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Role of quasar feedback in suppressing faint [OIII] emitters

Determine whether radiative or mechanical feedback from the z=6.61 quasar J0305−3150 suppresses the abundance of faint [OIII] λ5007 emitters within its surrounding protocluster, contributing to the observed faint-end turnover of the [OIII] luminosity function.

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Background

The measured [OIII] luminosity function in the quasar-anchored protocluster shows a significant turnover at log(L/erg s−1) ≈ 42.4, which is not attributable to survey completeness and differs from field measurements.

The authors consider potential explanations, including bursty star formation lowering instantaneous [OIII] line strengths below the detection limit and quasar-driven feedback suppressing star formation or ionized gas emission in low-mass halos near the quasar, but the contribution of quasar feedback remains unresolved.

References

However, we cannot immediately rule out that quasar feedback could also influence the number counts of faint [Oiii] emitters.

— A Quasar-Anchored Protocluster at z=6.6 in the ASPIRE Survey: I. Properties of [OIII] Emitters in a 10 Mpc Overdensity Structure (2410.03826 - Champagne et al., 4 Oct 2024) in Section 5.1 (Luminosity function)