The goal of this project is to study the relationship between supermassive black hole growth and galaxy evolution at the highest redshifts by carrying out detailed observations of the most distant quasars and their host galaxies using ALMA and new optical/near-IR facilities. The program will obtain deep, high resolution submillimeter continuum and [CII]/CO line observations of a complete sample of SDSS quasars at redshifts around 6 during the ALMA early science phase. These observations will reach an order magnitude deeper than current limits, and will be used to measure star formation rate, size, and gas kinematics of the host galaxies, and provide estimates of the galaxy dynamical mass. The program will also use new sensitive near-IR spectrographs on 6-10m telescopes, including Magellan, LBT and VLT, to measure supermassive black hole masses and chemical abundances in the environments of distant quasars. The observations will map the accretion and growth history of quasar central black holes, and probe the star formation and galaxy assembly history of their host galaxies.
Broader impacts of the work include training of undergraduate and graduate students, and pathfinding use of ALMA in early science mode.
