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Quasars are galaxies hosting accreting supermassive black holes; due to their brightness, they are unique probes of the early universe. To date, only a few quasars have been reported at (<800 Myr after the big bang). In this work, we present six additional quasars discovered using the Pan-STARRS1 survey. We use a sample of 15 quasars to perform a homogeneous and comprehensive analysis of this highest-redshift quasar population. We report four main results: (1) the majority of quasars show large blueshifts of the broad C iv λ1549 emission line compared to the systemic redshift of the quasars, with a median value ∼3× higher than a quasar sample at ; (2) we estimate the quasars’ black hole masses ( (0.3–5) × 109M⊙) via modeling of the Mg ii λ2798 emission line and rest-frame UV continuum and find that quasars at high redshift accrete their material (with ) at a rate comparable to a luminosity-matched sample at lower redshift, albeit with significant scatter (0.4 dex); (3) we recover no evolution of the Fe ii/Mg ii abundance ratio with cosmic time; and (4) we derive near-zone sizes and, together with measurements for quasars from recent work, confirm a shallow evolution of the decreasing quasar near-zone sizes with redshift. Finally, we present new millimeter observations of the [C ii] 158 μm emission line and underlying dust continuum from NOEMA for four quasars and provide new accurate redshifts and [C ii]/infrared luminosity estimates. The analysis presented here shows the large range of properties of the most distant quasars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei at are typically located in dense environments and their host galaxies are among the most massive systems at those redshifts, providing key insights for galaxy evolution. Finding radio-loud quasars at the highest accessible redshifts () is important to the study of their properties and environments at even earlier cosmic time. They could also serve as background sources for radio surveys intended to study the intergalactic medium beyond the epoch of reionization in HI 21 cm absorption. Currently, only five radio-loud () quasars are known at . In this paper we search for quasars by cross–matching the optical Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System 1 and radio Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm surveys. The radio information allows identification of quasars missed by typical color-based selections. While we find no good quasar candidates at the sensitivities of these surveys, we discover two new radio-loud quasars at . Furthermore, we identify two additional radio-loud quasars that were not previously known to be radio-loud, nearly doubling the current sample. We show the importance of having infrared photometry for quasars to robustly classify them as radio-quiet or radio-loud. Based on this, we reclassify the quasar J0203+0012 (z = 5.72), previously considered radio-loud, to be radio-quiet. Using the available data in the literature, we constrain the radio-loud fraction of quasars at , using the Kaplan–Meier estimator, to be . This result is consistent with there being no evolution of the radio-loud fraction with redshift, in contrast to what has been suggested by some studies at lower redshifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive, quiescent galaxies are already observed at redshift z ∼ 4, i.e., ∼1.5 Gyr after the big bang. Current models predict them to be formed via massive, gas-rich mergers at z > 6. Recent ALMA observations of the cool gas and dust in z ≳ 6 quasars have discovered [C ii]- and far-infrared-bright galaxies adjacent to several quasars. In this work, we present sensitive imaging and spectroscopic follow-up observations, with HST/WFC3, Spitzer/IRAC, VLT/MUSE, Magellan/FIRE, and LBT/LUCI-MODS, of ALMA-detected, dust-rich companion galaxies of four quasars at z ≳ 6, specifically acquired to probe their stellar content and unobscured star formation rate. Three companion galaxies do not show significant emission in the observed optical/IR wavelength range. The photometric limits suggest that these galaxies are highly dust-enshrouded, with unobscured star formation rates SFRUV < few M⊙ yr−1, and a stellar content of M* < 1010M⊙ yr−1. However, the companion to PJ167−13 shows bright rest-frame UV emission (F140W AB = 25.48). Its spectral energy distribution resembles that of a star-forming galaxy with a total SFR ∼ 50 M⊙ yr−1 and M* ∼ 9 × 109M⊙. All the companion sources are consistent with residing on the galaxy main sequence at z ∼ 6. Additional, deeper data from future facilities, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, are needed in order to characterize these gas-rich sources in the first gigayear of cosmic history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bright quasars, observed when the universe was less than one billion years old (z > 5.5), are known to host massive black holes (∼109M⊙) and are thought to reside in the center of massive dark matter overdensities. In this picture, overdensities of galaxies are expected around high-redshift quasars. However, observations based on the detection of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) around these quasars do not offer a clear picture: this may be due to the uncertain redshift constraints of LBGs, which are solely selected through broadband filters. To circumvent such uncertainties, we here perform a search for Lyman-alpha emitting galaxies (LAEs) in the field of the quasar PSO J215.1512–16.0417 at z ∼ 5.73, through narrowband deep imaging with FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope. We study an area of 37 arcmin2, i.e., ∼206 comoving Mpc2 at the redshift of the quasar. We find no evidence of an overdensity of LAEs in the quasar field with respect to blank-field studies. Possible explanations for these findings may be that our survey volume is too small, or that the strong ionizing radiation from the quasar hinders galaxy formation in its immediate proximity. Another possibility is that these quasars are not situated in the dense environments predicted by some simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]