Quasar quartet embedded in giant nebula reveals rare massive structure in distant universe

All galaxies once passed through a hyperluminous quasar phase powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole. But because these episodes are brief, quasars are rare objects typically separated by cosmological distances. In a survey for Lyman-a emission at redshift z ≈ 2, we discovered a physical association of four quasars embedded in a giant nebula. Located within a substantial overdensity of galaxies, this system is probably the progenitor of a massive galaxy cluster. The chance probability of finding a quadruple quasar is estimated to be ∼10-7, implying a physical connection between Lyman-a nebulae and the locations of rare protoclusters. Our findings imply that the most massive structures in the distant universe have a tremendous supply (≅1011 solar masses) of cool dense (volume density ≅1 cm-3) gas, which is in conflict with current cosmological simulations.