X-ray spectroscopy of the first z>7 QSO

We have recently discovered the most distant QSO, ULAS J1120+0641, at z7.085,just 760 Myr after the big bang. As the first luminous, persistent source to bediscovered at z>7, ULAS J1120 is a unique probe of the intergalactic medium deepin the epoch of reionization, and already constrains the neutral fraction to bemore than 10% at z7. Its black hole is estimated to be 2.0e9 Msun, and thesmall size of the ionized region in which it is embedded implies it has beenshining for less than 10^7 yrs. Thus it also provides important constraints onthe formation and evolution of massive black holes. We propose to obtain anXray spectrum with XMMNewton to examine the physical conditions in this youngQSO, and to better determine its ionizing spectrum for reionization modelling. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]