The distribution of high-redshift (z ≳ 2) quasars near active galaxies

Two fields uniformly searched by the Westerbork radio telescope are discussed. They contain four blue radio galaxies brighter than F = 16.9 mag and eight quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with 1.84 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 2.397. The latter objects group in the vicinity of the blue galaxies. In the case of the violently disrupted blue radio galaxy, 53W003, there are, within about 2', five AGNs of 2.389 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 2.397. Mixed into this same small region are about 18 less compact Ly alpha emitters of similar redshift. It is shown that the distribution of all the known high-redshift objects in the two fields follows the same rules of association with active galaxies as have been observed since 1966. In particular, there is another exactly aligned triplet of quasars of z = 1.84 and 2.14 across a radio quasar of z = 0.55 which almost exactly matches the Arp/Hazard triplet configurations found in 1980.