GB 1508+5714, The First Z Greater than 4 Radio-Selected Quasar In X Rays

We report the detection in X ray of a high redshift (z=4.30) radio-loud quasar, GB 1508+5714, the first radio-selected z greater than 4 quasar seen in X rays. The quasar was observed serendipitously with the Einstein observatory lPC at 0.02 +/- 0.003 counts/s. It is ten times brighter than the other two z greater than 4 X-ray detected quasars. The X-ray source is unusually hard, implying either alpha(sub E) less than 0.2, or N(sub H) greater than 10(exp 22) atoms/sq cm (1(sigma) limits) for a simple power-law plus intrinsic (z=4.3) absorption. Intrinsic absorption would make GB 1508+5714 similar to a large fraction of z approx. 3 radio-loud quasars.