We present a 30 h integration Very Large Telescope X-shooter spectrum of the Lyman series forest towards the z = 7.084 quasar ULAS J1120+0641. The only detected transmission at S/N > 5 is confined to seven narrow spikes in the Lyα forest, over the redshift range 5.858 < z < 6.122, just longward of the wavelength of the onset of the Lyβ forest. There is also a possible detection of one further unresolved spike in the Lyβ forest at z = 6.854, with S/N = 4.5. We also present revised Hubble Space Telescope F814W photometry of the source. The summed flux from the transmission spikes is in agreement with the F814W photometry, so all the transmission in the Lyman series forest may have been detected. There is a Gunn-Peterson (GP) trough in the Lyα forest from z = 6.122 all the way to the quasar near zone at z = 7.04. The trough, of comoving length 240 h −1 Mpc, is over twice as long as the next longest known GP trough. We combine the spectroscopic and photometric results to constrain the evolution of the Lyα effective optical depth (τ eff GP ) with redshift, extending a similar analysis by Simpson et al. We find τ eff GP ∝ (1 + z) ξ where ξ = 11.2 +0.4 −0.6 , for z > 5.5. The data nevertheless provide only a weak limit on the volume-weighted hydrogen intergalactic (IGM) neutral fraction at z ∼ 6.5, x H i > 10 −4 , similar to limits at redshift z ∼ 6 from less distant quasars. The new observations cannot extend measurements of the neutral fraction of the IGM to higher values because absorption in the Lyα forest is already saturated near z ∼ 6. For higher neutral fractions, other methods such as measuring the red damping wing of the IGM will be required.

We present new observations of the highest-redshift quasar known, ULAS J1120+0641, redshift z = 7.084, obtained in the optical, at near-, mid-, and far-infrared wavelengths, and in the sub-mm. We combine these results with published X-ray and radio observations to create the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED), with the goals of measuring the bolometric luminosity L bol , and quantifying the respective contributions from the AGN and star formation. We find three components are needed to fit the data over the wavelength range 0.12−1000 µm: the unobscured quasar accretion disk and broad-line region, a dusty clumpy AGN torus, and a cool 47K modified black body to characterise star formation. Despite the low signal-to-noise ratio of the new long-wavelength data, the normalisation of any dusty torus model is constrained within ±40%. We measure a bolometric luminosity L bol = 2.6 ± 0.6 × 10 47 erg s −1 = 6.7 ± 1.6 × 10 13 L , to which the three components contribute 31%, 32%, 3%, respectively, with the remainder provided by the extreme UV < 0.12 µm. We tabulate the best-fit model SED. We use local scaling relations to estimate a star formation rate (SFR) in the range 60−270 M /yr from the [C ii] line luminosity and the 158 µm continuum luminosity. An analysis of the equivalent widths of the [C ii] line in a sample of z > 5.7 quasars suggests that these indicators are promising tools for estimating the SFR in high-redshift quasars in general. At the time observed the black hole was growing in mass more than 100 times faster than the stellar bulge, relative to the mass ratio measured in the local universe, i.e. compared to M BH /M bulge 1.4 × 10 −3 , for ULAS J1120+0641 we measureṀ BH /Ṁ bulge 0.2.

We provide predictions of the yield of 7 < z < 9 quasars from the Euclid wide survey, updating the calculation presented in the Euclid Red Book in several ways. We account for revisions to the Euclid near-infrared filter wavelengths; we adopt steeper rates of decline of the quasar luminosity function (QLF; Φ) with redshift, Φ ∝ 10 k(z−6) , k = −0.72, and a further steeper rate of decline, k = −0.92; we use better models of the contaminating populations (MLT dwarfs and compact early-type galaxies); and we make use of an improved Bayesian selection method, compared to the colour cuts used for the Red Book calculation, allowing the identification of fainter quasars, down to J AB ∼ 23. Quasars at z > 8 may be selected from Euclid OY JH photometry alone, but selection over the redshift interval 7 < z < 8 is greatly improved by the addition of z-band data from, e.g., Pan-STARRS and LSST. We calculate predicted quasar yields for the assumed values of the rate of decline of the QLF beyond z = 6. If the decline of the QLF accelerates beyond z = 6, with k = −0.92, Euclid should nevertheless find over 100 quasars with 7.0 < z < 7.5, and ∼25 quasars beyond the current record of z = 7.5, including ∼8 beyond z = 8.0. The first Euclid quasars at z > 7.5 should be found in the DR1 data release, expected in 2024. It will be possible to determine the bright-end slope of the QLF, 7 < z < 8, M 1450 < −25, using 8 m class telescopes to confirm candidates, but follow-up with JWST or E-ELT will be required to measure the faint-end slope. Contamination of the candidate lists is predicted to be modest even at J AB ∼ 23. The precision with which k can be determined over 7 < z < 8 depends on the value of k, but assuming k = −0.72 it can be measured to a 1σ uncertainty of 0.07.

We present the results of a new, deeper, and complete search for high-redshift 6.5 &lt; z &lt; 9.3 quasars over 977 deg2 of the VISTA Kilo-Degree Infrared Galaxy (VIKING) survey. This exploits a new list-driven data set providing photometry in all bands Z, Y, J, H, Ks, for all sources detected by VIKING in J. We use the Bayesian model comparison (BMC) selection method of Mortlock et al., producing a ranked list of just 21 candidates. The sources ranked 1, 2, 3, and 5 are the four known z &gt; 6.5 quasars in this field. Additional observations of the other 17 candidates, primarily DESI Legacy Survey photometry and ESO FORS2 spectroscopy, confirm that none is a quasar. This is the first complete sample from the VIKING survey, and we provide the computed selection function. We include a detailed comparison of the BMC method against two other selection methods: colour cuts and minimum-χ2 SED fitting. We find that: (i) BMC produces eight times fewer false positives than colour cuts, while also reaching 0.3 mag deeper, (ii) the minimum-χ2 SED-fitting method is extremely efficient but reaches 0.7 mag less deep than the BMC method, and selects only one of the four known quasars. We show that BMC candidates, rejected because their photometric SEDs have high χ2 values, include bright examples of galaxies with very strong [O iii] λλ4959,5007 emission in the Y band, identified in fainter surveys by Matsuoka et al. This is a potential contaminant population in Euclid searches for faint z &gt; 7 quasars, not previously accounted for, and that requires better characterization.

Purpose: Real-world data represents a valuable tool for pregnancy research. However, an algorithmic approach is needed to ascertain pregnancy timings from this complex data. The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD Pregnancy Register, based on UK Primary care data, has therefore proven to be a valuable research tool. The same algorithmic approach was applied to the CPRD Aurum data to generate an equivalent register in the larger database. Methods: Records of female patients registered with a CPRD Aurum contributing practice between the 1st of January 1987 and the 30th of April 2021 were searched for evidence of pregnancy. The algorithm used to generate the CPRD GOLD Pregnancy Register was redeveloped and applied first to CPRD GOLD and then to CPRD Aurum. The resulting CPRD Aurum Pregnancy Register was validated against the CPRD GOLD register, linked Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and the Office of National Statistics (ONS) live birth data.Results: There are 16 833 427 pregnancy episodes in the CPRD Aurum Pregnancy Register from 6 724 615 women, more than double the number in CPRD GOLD. The distribution of pregnancy outcome types was comparable between the registers.Across the whole register, there was good concordance between pregnancy episodes found in CPRD Aurum and linked HES. However, both CPRD registers saw a declining number of pregnancy episodes from 2007 onwards, steeper than in HES or the ONS birth data.Conclusions: A pregnancy register has been created in CPRD Aurum. Changes in antenatal care policies in the UK have led to declining numbers of pregnancies in EHR primary care data. However, the creation of this pregnancy register has tripled the number of patients in the CPRD Pregnancy Registers and will increase the capacity to study pregnancy in CPRD data, particularly rare or emerging exposures, and outcomes.