Highly-excited CO emission in APM 08279+5255 at z = 3.9

¹ MPIfR, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, Germany e-mail: aweiss@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
² IRAM, Domaine Universitaire, 38406 St-Martin-d'Hères, France
³ MPIA, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
⁴ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
⁵ Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Aptdo. Postal 51 y 216, Puebla, Mexico
⁶ ESA-Space Telescope Division, STScI, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Received: 26 July 2006
Accepted: 19 February 2007

Abstract

We report the detection of the CO 4–3, 6–5, 9–8, 10–9, and 11–10 lines in the Broad Absorption Line quasar APM 08279+5255 at using the IRAM 30 m telescope. We also present IRAM PdBI high spatial resolution observations of the CO 4–3 and 9–8 lines, and of the 1.4 mm dust radiation as well as an improved spectrum of the HCN(5–4) line. Unlike CO in other QSO host galaxies, the CO line SED of APM 08279+5255 rises up to the CO(10–9) transition. The line fluxes in the CO ladder and the dust continuum fluxes are best fit by a two component model, a “cold” component at ~ K with a high density of n(H₂) = 110⁵ cm^-3, and a “warm”, ~ K component with a density of 110⁴ cm^-3. We show that IR pumping via the 14  bending mode of HCN is the most likely channel for the HCN excitation. From our models we find, that the CO(1–0) emission is dominated by the dense gas component which implies that the CO conversion factor is higher than usually assumed for high-z galaxies with 5 (K km s^-1 pc²)^-1. Using brightness temperature arguments, the results from our high-resolution mapping, and lens models from the literature, we argue that the molecular lines and the dust continuum emission arise from a very compact (r ≈ 100-300 pc), highly gravitationally magnified () region surrounding the central AGN. Part of the difference relative to other high-z QSOs may therefore be due to the configuration of the gravitational lens, which gives us a high-magnification zoom right into the central 200-pc radius of APM 08279+5255 where IR pumping plays a significant role for the excitation of the molecular lines.