A CONSTRAINT on QUASAR CLUSTERING at z = 5 from A BINARY QUASAR

We report the discovery of a quasar pair at z = 5 separated by 21″. Both objects were identified as quasar candidates using simple color selection techniques applied to photometric catalogs from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). Spectra obtained with the MMT present no discernible offset in redshift between the two objects; on the other hand, there are clear differences in the emission line profiles and in the multiwavelength spectral energy distributions that strongly disfavor the hypothesis that they are gravitationally lensed images of a single quasar. Both quasars are surprisingly bright given their proximity (a projected separation of ∼135 kpc), with i = 19.4 and i = 21.4. Previous measurements of the luminosity function demonstrate that luminous quasars are extremely rare at z = 5; the existence of this pair suggests that quasars have strong small-scale clustering at high redshift. Assuming a real-space correlation function of the form ξ(r) ∝ (r/r₀)^-2, this discovery implies a correlation length of r₀ -20h^-1 Mpc, consistent with a rapid strengthening of quasar clustering at high redshift as seen in previous observations and predicted by theoretical models where feedback effects are inefficient at shutting down black hole growth at high redshift.