Targeted surveys identify 25 new quasars in the early Universe, suggesting new insights into cosmic evolution.
Luminous quasars at z>4 provide key insights into the early Universe. Their rarity necessitates wide-field multiband surveys to efficiently separate them from the main astrophysical contaminants (i.e., ultracool dwarfs). To expand the sample of high-z quasars, we conducted targeted selections using optical, infrared, and radio surveys, which we complemented by literature-based quasar candidate catalogs. We report the discovery of 25 new quasars at 4.6<z<6.9 (six at z≥6.5), with M1450 between −25.4 and −27.0. We also present new spectra of six z>6.5 quasars we selected, but whose independent discovery has already been published in the literature. Three of the newly discovered quasars are strong radio emitters (L1.4 GHz = 0.09−1.0×1034 erg s−1 Hz−1). One source at z = 4.71 exhibits typical blazar-like properties, including a flat radio spectrum, a radio loudness of ∼1000, and multifrequency variability. It was also detected by SRG/eROSITA X-ray telescope (f0.2−2.3 keV∼1.3×10−13 erg s−1 cm−2). In addition, for seven 6.3<z<6.9 quasars, we present near-infrared spectroscopy and estimated the central black hole mass from their C IV and Mg II broad emission lines. Their masses (log[MBH,MgII] = 8.58−9.14 M⊙) and Eddington ratios (λEdd,MgII = 0.74−2.2) are consistent with other z>6 quasars reported in the literature. A z = 6.3 quasar exhibits a velocity difference of approximately 9000 km s−1 between the C IV and Mg II emission lines. This means that it is one of the most extreme C IV outflows currently known. The sample also includes three high-ionization broad absorption line (HiBAL) quasars. One of these quasars shows potential evidence of an extremely fast outflow feature that reaches 47 000 km s−1.
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