P. Jakobsen et al., FAINT OBJECT CAMERA FAR-ULTRAVIOLET OBJECTIVE PRISM OBSERVATIONS OF 12 Z-GREATER-THAN-3 QUASARS, The Astrophysical journal, 417(2), 1993, pp. 528-540
We present the first results of an exploratory objective prism survey
of the far-ultraviolet (lambdalambda1200-1800) spectra of high-redshif
t quasars obtained with the Faint Object Camera on-board the Hubble Sp
ace Telescope. The prime objective of this survey is to identify one o
r more candidates among the known quasars at z(em) > 3 with sufficient
flux at far-ultraviolet wavelengths to enable detailed follow-up obse
rvations of redshifted intergalactic He II lambda304 absorption using
the HST grating spectrographs. FOC prism observations of 12 prime cand
idates selected for redshift (z(em) congruent-to 3.03-3.66), brightnes
s (V less than or similar 18.5) and the appearance of their optical ab
sorption spectra are presented and discussed. As anticipated beforehan
d, cumulative neutral hydrogen Lyman continuum absorption from the var
ious classes of intervening absorption systems presents a serious obst
acle for observing high redshift quasars at extreme ultraviolet rest e
nergies. At our limiting sensitivity of F(lambda) congruent-to 2-4 x 1
0(-16) ergs s-1 cm-2 angstrom-1, 10 of the 12 objects observed show no
far-UV flux shortward of lambda1800 observed wavelength. Two objects,
Q0114-089 (UM 670; z(em) = 3.16) and Q1442+102 (OQ 172; z(em) = 3.53)
are detected, but only down to lambda congruent-to 330 angstrom and l
ambda congruent-to 345 angstrom rest wavelength. No object is reliably
detected at emitted He II lambda304. The severity of the cumulative L
yman continuum absorption is, however, such that these preliminary fin
dings are still statistically consistent with the hypothesis that lumi
nous quasars are intrinsically bright at extreme ultraviolet energies
at flux levels comparable to those suggested by extrapolation of the p
ower law continua seen at longer wavelengths. A larger number of high-
redshift quasars need to be observed in the far-UV before the prospect
s for observing intergalactic He II lambda304 absorption with HST can
be fully appraised.