Hubble Space Telescope Resolved Image and Spectra of the Z ~= 2 QSO 1345+584

Abstract

QSO 1345+584 has been spatially resolved by direct images and in spectral images, and has asymmetrically extended flux to the west, where its inner radio structure is seen. The brightest knots in the resolved flux correspond closely with knots in the curved radio jet, and the brightest knot has a velocity of approach of some 3000 km s^-1 with respect to the nucleus. Other parts of the line-emitting material appear to follow a systematic velocity field with values up to 1000 km s^-1 with respect to the nucleus. The signal from the resolved continuum is not detected spectroscopically, but accounts for two-thirds of the (rest-UV) flux, so that it is likely to originate in hot stars. The QSO lies in or behind a compact group of galaxies of comparable brightness and irregular and knotty morphology, which probably form a dense physical group with very young stellar populations. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.