INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF THE Z=3.8 RADIO GALAXY, 4C 41.17, WITH THE KECK,W.M. TELESCOPE

The near-infrared camera on the W. M. Keck telescope has been used to image the z = 3.8 radio galaxy 4C 41.17. The 2 mu m continuum consists of a thin ace of emission aligned along the radio axis. There is close correlation between the optical, infrared, and radio emission. The color of 4C 41.17 is blue (R-K-s, = 2.7 +/- 0.1 mag). This may indicate ongoing star formation, but the origin of the continuum emission remains unclear. [OIII] and H beta emission makes a large contribution to the K-band flux. A number of faint red companions of 4C 41.17 are detected in the 2 mu m image. If these sources are at the same redshift as 4C 41.17, then their red colors indicate ages of more than similar to 0.5 Gyr and an epoch of formation at z greater than or similar to 8.