The Environmental Impact Of The High-redshift (z=1.532) Radio-loud Quasar 3c270.1

Chandra X-ray observations of the high-redshift (z=1.532) radio-loud quasar 3C 270.1 taken in Feb 2008 show the nucleus to have a typical power-law spectrum with a weak, 170 eV, Fe Kα emission line. The data also reveal extended emission, about half of which is associated with the strong radio emission from this source while the remainder appears more diffuse. The radio-related X-ray emission is soft, consistent with inverse-Compton emission from an aging electron population. The southern emission is co-spatial with the radio lobe and peaks at the position of the double radio hotspot. Modelling of this hotspot with the inclusion of Spitzer upper limits rules out synchrotron emission from a single power-law population of electrons, favoring inverse-Compton emission (SSC) with a field of 20 nT, 45% below equipartition. The northern emission is concentrated close to the location of a 40 deg. bend where the radio jet is presumed to encounter the ICM. It can be explained by iC/CMB emission with a field of 5 nT, 20% of the equipartition field. The remaining, more diffuse emission is harder (HR=-0.09+/-0.22). With only 22.8+/-5.6 counts, the spectral form cannot be constrained. If we assume thermal emission, and a temperature of 4 keV, we estimate a luminosity of 1.8E44 erg/s, consistent with the luminosity-temperature relation of lower-redshift clusters. However deeper Chandra X-ray observations are required to delineate the spatial distribution, better constrain the spectrum of the diffuse emission and so confirm/not the presence of X-ray emission from a cluster