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1. The Pan-STARRS1 z > 5.6 Quasar Survey. III. The z ≈ 6 Quasar Luminosity Function

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aca7ca  

   Schindler, Jan-Torge; Bañados, Eduardo; Connor, Thomas; Decarli, Roberto; Fan, Xiaohui; Farina, Emanuele Paolo; Mazzucchelli, Chiara; Nanni, Riccardo; Rix, Hans-Walter; Stern, Daniel; et al (January 2023, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present thez≈ 6 type-1 quasar luminosity function (QLF), based on the Pan-STARRS1 (PS1) quasar survey. The PS1 sample includes 125 quasars atz≈ 5.7–6.2, with −28 ≲M₁₄₅₀≲ −25. With the addition of 48 fainter quasars from the SHELLQs survey, we evaluate thez≈ 6 QLF over −28 ≲M₁₄₅₀≲ −22. Adopting a double power law with an exponential evolution of the quasar density (Φ(z) ∝ 10^k(z−6);k= −0.7), we use a maximum likelihood method to model our data. We find a break magnitude of $M^{*}=-{26.38}_{-0.60}^{+0.79}\mathrm{mag}$ , a faint-end slope of $\alpha =-{1.70}_{-0.19}^{+0.29}$ , and a steep bright-end slope of $\beta =-{3.84}_{-1.21}^{+0.63}$ . Based on our new QLF model, we determine the quasar comoving spatial density atz≈ 6 to be $n(M_{1450}<-26)={1.16}_{-0.12}^{+0.13}{\mathrm{cGpc}}^{-3}$ . In comparison with the literature, we find the quasar density to evolve with a constant value ofk≈ −0.7, fromz≈ 7 toz≈ 4. Additionally, we derive an ionizing emissivity of ${ϵ}_{912}(z=6)={7.23}_{-1.02}^{+1.65}\times {10}^{22}\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}{\mathrm{Hz}}^{-1}{\mathrm{cMpc}}^{-3}$ , based on the QLF measurement. Given standard assumptions, and the recent measurement of the mean free path by Becker et al. atz≈ 6, we calculate an Hiphotoionizing rate of Γ_{H I}(z= 6) ≈ 6 × 10⁻¹⁶s⁻¹, strongly disfavoring a dominant role of quasars in hydrogen reionization. 

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2. ASPIRE: The Environments and Dark Matter Halos of Luminous Quasars in the Epoch of Reionization

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae7bfa  

   Wang, Feige; Champagne, Jaclyn B; Huang, Jiamu; Yang, Jinyi; Hennawi, Joseph F; Fan, Xiaohui; Zhang, Haowen; Costa, Tiago; Decarli, Roberto; Habouzit, Melanie; et al (July 2026, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present a systematic study of the environments of 25 luminous quasars atz > 6.5 from the ASPIRE program. Using JWST/NIRCam wide-field slitless spectroscopy data, we identified 487 galaxies at 5.3 ≲ z ≲ 7.0 exhibiting [Oiii] emission. Among these, 122 [Oiii] emitters lie within ∣Δv_los∣ < 1000 km s⁻¹of the quasars, corresponding to a ∼9.4-fold enhancement relative to the average galaxy density at other redshifts. Furthermore, we identified 16 [Cii]-emitting galaxies at the quasar redshifts from Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) mosaic observations. A cross-correlation function analysis between quasars and [Oiii]+[Cii] emitters yields a cross-correlation length of $r_0^{\mathrm{QG}}=8.68_{-0.55}^{+0.51}{h}^{-1}\mathrm{cMpc}$ and an autocorrelation of $r_0^{\mathrm{QQ}}=15.76_{-2.70}^{+2.48}{h}^{-1}\mathrm{cMpc}$ , indicating thatz ∼ 7 quasars reside in dark matter halos with $M_{\mathrm{halo}}=10^{12.27_{-0.26}^{+0.21}}{M}_{\odot }$ and have a quasar lifetime of $t_Q=10^{{7.05}_{-1.01}^{+0.95}}\mathrm{yr}$ . Notably, the number of [Oiii]-emitting galaxies at quasar redshifts varies significantly from field to field, ranging from 0 to 20, highlighting a diverse quasar environment. Remarkably, seven quasars trace significant galaxy overdensities (i.e., protoclusters), withδ_gal > 5 within a volume ofV ∼ 500 cMpc³. We also find that ∣Δv_los∣ increases rapidly toward smaller galaxy–quasar separations in protocluster fields, consistent with galaxy kinematics around extremely massive halos in cosmological simulations. By combining JWST and ALMA data, we reveal the complex and diverse environments of these early quasars, providing robust evidence that the earliest luminous quasars are effective tracers of galaxy overdensities, albeit with substantial field-to-field variation. 

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3. Massive Extremely High-velocity Outflow in the Quasar J164653.72+243942.2

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adef0d  

   Rodríguez_Hidalgo, Paola; Choi_최, Hyunseop 현섭; Hall, Patrick B; Leighly, Karen M; Flores, Liliana; Charles, Mikel M; DeFrancesco, Cora; Hlavacek-Larrondo, Julie; Perreault-Levasseur, Laurence (September 2025, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present analysis of one of the most extreme quasar outflows found to date in our survey of extremely high-velocity outflows (EHVOs). J164653.72+243942.2 (z_em ∼ 3.04) shows variable Civλλ1548,1551 absorption at speeds larger than 0.1c, accompanied by Siiv, Nv,and Lyα, and disappearing absorption at lower speeds. We perform absorption measurements using the apparent optical depth method and SimBAL. We find the absorption to be very broad (Δv ∼  35,100 km s⁻¹in the first epoch and 13,000 km s⁻¹in the second one) and fast (v_max ∼  –50,200 km s⁻¹and −49,000 km s⁻¹, respectively). We measure large column densities ( $\log N_{\mathrm{H}}>$ 21.6 (cm⁻²)) and are able to place distance estimates for the EHVO (5 ≲ R ≲ 28 pc) and the lower-velocity outflow (7 ≲ R ≲ 540 pc). We estimate a mass outflow rate for the EHVO to be ${\dot{M}}_{\mathrm{out}}\sim 50–290M_{\odot }{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log L_{\mathrm{KE}}\sim 46.5–47.2\left(\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}\right)$ in both epochs. The lower-velocity component has a mass outflow rate ${\dot{M}}_{\mathrm{out}}\sim 10–790M_{\odot }{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$ and a kinetic luminosity of $\log L_{\mathrm{KE}}\sim 45.3–47.2\left(\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}\right)$ . We find that J164653.72+243942.2 is not an outlier among EHVO quasars in regard to its physical properties. While its column density is lower than typical BAL values, its higher outflow velocities drive most of the mass outflow rate and kinetic luminosity. These results emphasize the crucial role of EHVOs in powering quasar feedback, and failing to account for these outflows likely leads to underestimating the feedback impact on galaxies. 

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4. Resolved Measurements of the CO-to-H ₂ Conversion Factor in 37 Nearby Galaxies

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad23ed  

   Chiang_江, I-Da 宜達; Sandstrom, Karin M; Chastenet, Jérémy; Bolatto, Alberto D; Koch, Eric W; Leroy, Adam K; Sun_孙, Jiayi 嘉懿; Teng, Yu-Hsuan; Williams, Thomas G (March 2024, The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We measure the CO-to-H₂conversion factor (α_CO) in 37 galaxies at 2 kpc resolution, using the dust surface density inferred from far-infrared emission as a tracer of the gas surface density and assuming a constant dust-to-metal ratio. In total, we have ∼790 and ∼610 independent measurements ofα_COfor CO (2–1) and (1–0), respectively. The mean values forα_{CO (2–1)}andα_{CO (1–0)}are ${9.3}_{-5.4}^{+4.6}$ and ${4.2}_{-2.0}^{+1.9}{M}_{\odot }{\mathrm{pc}}^{-2}{\left(\mathrm{K}\mathrm{km}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}\right)}^{-1}$ , respectively. The CO-intensity-weighted mean is 5.69 forα_{CO (2–1)}and 3.33 forα_{CO (1–0)}. We examine howα_COscales with several physical quantities, e.g., the star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, and dust-mass-weighted average interstellar radiation field strength ( $\overline{U}$ ). Among them, $\overline{U}$ , Σ_SFR, and the integrated CO intensity (W_CO) have the strongest anticorrelation with spatially resolvedα_CO. We provide linear regression results toα_COfor all quantities tested. At galaxy-integrated scales, we observe significant correlations betweenα_COandW_CO, metallicity, $\overline{U}$ , and Σ_SFR. We also find thatα_COin each galaxy decreases with the stellar mass surface density (Σ_⋆) in high-surface-density regions (Σ_⋆≥ 100M_⊙pc⁻²), following the power-law relations ${\alpha }_{\mathrm{CO}(2–1)}\propto {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\star }^{-0.5}$ and ${\alpha }_{\mathrm{CO}(1–0)}\propto {\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{\star }^{-0.2}$ . The power-law index is insensitive to the assumed dust-to-metal ratio. We interpret the decrease inα_COwith increasing Σ_⋆as a result of higher velocity dispersion compared to isolated, self-gravitating clouds due to the additional gravitational force from stellar sources, which leads to the reduction inα_CO. The decrease inα_COat high Σ_⋆is important for accurately assessing molecular gas content and star formation efficiency in the centers of galaxies, which bridge “Milky Way–like” to “starburst-like” conversion factors. 

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5. ODIN: Clustering Analysis of 14,000 Ly α -emitting Galaxies at z = 2.4, 3.1, and 4.5

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adec82  

   Herrera, Danisbel; Gawiser, Eric; Benda, Barbara; Firestone, Nicole M; Ramakrishnan, Vandana; Moon, Byeongha; Lee, Kyoung-Soo; Park, Changbom; Valdes, Francisco; Yang, Yujin; et al (July 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract Lyαemitters (LAEs) are star-forming galaxies that efficiently probe the spatial distribution of galaxies in the high-redshift Universe. The spatial clustering of LAEs reflects the properties of their individual host dark matter halos, allowing us to study the evolution of the galaxy–halo connection. We analyze the clustering of 5233, 5220, and 3706 LAEs atz= 2.4, 3.1, and 4.5, respectively, in the 9 deg²COSMOS field from the One-hundred-deg²DECam Imaging in Narrowbands survey. After correcting for redshift-space distortions, LAE contamination rates, and the integral constraint, the observed angular correlation functions imply linear galaxy bias factors ofb= $1.72_{-0.27}^{+0.26},2.01_{-0.29}^{+0.26},$ and $2.95_{-0.46}^{+0.40}$ forz= 2.4, 3.1, and 4.5, respectively. The median dark matter halo masses inferred from these measurements are $\log (M_h/M_{\odot })$ = $11.44_{-0.28}^{+0.30},11.13_{-0.26}^{+0.26},\mathrm{and}10.85_{-0.24}^{+0.24}$ for the three samples, respectively. The analysis also reveals that LAEs occupy roughly 3%–7% of the halos whose clustering strength matches that of the LAEs. 

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