We present VIMOS integral field spectroscopy of the brightest radio-quiet QSO on the southern sky HE 1029 - 1401 at a redshift of z = 0.086 .
Standard decomposition techniques for broad-band imaging are extended to integral field data in order to deblend the QSO and host emission .
We perform a tentative analysis of the stellar continuum finding a young stellar population ( < 100 Myr ) or a featureless continuum embedded in an old stellar population ( 10 Gyr ) typical for a massive elliptical galaxy .
The stellar velocity dispersion of \sigma _ { * } = 320 \pm 90 km/s and the estimated black hole mass \log ( M _ { \mathrm { BH } } / M _ { \sun } ) = 8.7 \pm 0.3 are consistent with the local M _ { \mathrm { BH } } – \sigma _ { * } relation within the errors .
For the first time we map the two-dimensional ionised gas distribution and the gas velocity field around HE 1029 - 1401 .
While the stellar host morphology is purely elliptical we find a highly structured distribution of ionised gas out to 16 kpc from the QSO .
The gas is highly ionised solely by the QSO radiation and has a significantly lower metallicity than would be expected for the stellar mass of the host , indicating an external origin of the gas most likely due to minor mergers .
We find a rotating gas disc around the QSO and a dispersion-dominated non-rotating gas component within the central 3 kpc .
At larger distances the velocity field is heavily disturbed , which could be interpreted as another signature of past minor merger events .
Alternatively , the arc-like structure seen in the ionised gas might also be indicative of a large-scale expanding bubble , centred on and possibly driven by the active nucleus .