ID830 at z = 1.83 has recently been singled out in the astronomical community for being the most X-ray luminous radio-loud quasar known so far. This quasar has a high redshift of 3.43. Producing particle accelerators, discoveries and Nobel Prize-winning scientists have made an indelible mark on the industry. ID830 has a bolometric luminosity of ~ 1 quindecillion erg/s. This incredible capability has provided new and extraordinary details about quasar behavior and nature.
The unusual nature of ID830, beyond its extreme luminosity, lies in the characteristics of its supermassive black hole (SMBH). This galaxy harbors a black hole that is likely approaching a 10 billion solar mass maximal mass limit. Or, it might be going through a super-Eddington accretion phase. Because ID830 grows a lot of energy, and because it’s got a huge mass. This further renders it a key locus for understanding the evolution of quasars.
Unprecedented Luminosity and Accretion Dynamics
These new results call attention to ID830’s extraordinary X-ray luminosity, calculated at 0.01 quindecillion erg/s. Being this bright makes it one of the brightest examples found so far among known quasars. Even its bolometric luminosity—more than a quindecillion erg/s—beggars description and makes this an extreme object.
Aside from its considerable luminosity, ID830 displays a moderate reddening of ∼0.39 mag. This trait means that intervening material may be blocking a fraction of the light emitted by the quasar. Yet this own blockage can make mismatch observations and analyses all the more difficult.
The quasar’s ultraviolet-to-X-ray luminosity ratio is -1.2, meaning that a significant portion of its emission is converted into high-energy radiation. What distinguishes ID830 is its enviable combination of attributes. Astronomers have viewed it as a critical object for understanding the luminosity / black hole accretion process relationship – a major outstanding question in astrophysics.
Jet Kinetic Power and Transitional Phase
ID830 also features a jet kinetic power that is among the highest ever found, estimated at between 1 and 10 quattuordecillion erg/s. The level of power is very similar to the radiative luminosity. This surprising similarity suggests a close link between the energy output of the quasar and its jet-producing activities.
ID830 is riding a transitional wave. Its corona and jet are lit up thanks to an accretion outburst. This exciting phenomenon has opened a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for scientists to explore how these different components interact during such fast-moving, high-impact events.
The team of scientists involved in the research posits that “ID830 may represent a post-burst super-Eddington quasar bridging the gap between sub-Eddington quasars and the X-ray weak, rapidly accreting ‘little red dots’ recently identified with JWST.” This declaration highlights the importance of ID830 in current debates concerning the evolution and classification of quasars.
Implications for Future Research
With these results concerning ID830, a new door has opened for research into similar astronomical phenomena. Its supermassive black hole has a mass that exceeds all known quasars by more than five times. On average, those quasars have black hole masses of 440 million solar masses. Although other quasars were observed at high precision bolometric luminosities as high as 0.076 quindecillion erg/s. Their Eddington ratios exceed 1.4, assuring that they are indeed super-Eddington.
The data collected from ID830 will greatly improve our understanding of black hole growth and accretion processes. Detailed modeling and analysis can then be performed, as the X-ray spectrum captured through observations can be fitted by Xspec.
