2025ApJ...986..126K

Query : 2025ApJ...986..126K

2025ApJ...986..126K - Astrophys. J., 986, 126 (2025/June-3)

The Rise of Faint, Red Active Galactic Nuclei at z > 4: A Sample of Little Red Dots in the JWST Extragalactic Legacy Fields.

KOCEVSKI D.D., FINKELSTEIN S.L., BARRO G., TAYLOR A.J., CALABRO A., LALOUX B., BUCHNER J., TRUMP J.R., LEUNG G.C.K., YANG G., DICKINSON M., PEREZ-GONZALEZ P.G., PACUCCI F., INAYOSHI K., SOMERVILLE R.S., McGRATH E.J., AKINS H.B., BAGLEY M.B., BOWLER R.A.A., BISIGELLO L., CARNALL A., CASEY C.M., CHENG Y., CLERI N.J., COSTANTIN L., CULLEN F., DAVIS K., DONNAN C.T., DUNLOP J.S., ELLIS R.S., FERGUSON H.C., FUJIMOTO S., FONTANA A., GIAVALISCO M., GRAZIAN A., GROGIN N.A., HATHI N.P., HIRSCHMANN M., HUERTAS-COMPANY M., HOLWERDA B.W., ILLINGWORTH G., JUNEAU S., KARTALTEPE J.S., KOEKEMOER A.M., LI W., LUCAS R.A., MAGEE D., MASON C., McLEOD D.J., McLURE R.J., NAPOLITANO L., PAPOVICH C., PIRZKAL N., RODIGHIERO G., SANTINI P., WILKINS S.M. and YUNG L.Y.A.

Abstract (from CDS):

We present a sample of 341 “little red dots” (LRDs) spanning the redshift range z ∼ 2-11 using data from the CEERS, PRIMER, JADES, UNCOVER, and NGDEEP surveys. Unlike past use of color indices to identify LRDs, we employ continuum slope fitting using shifting bandpasses to sample the same rest-frame emission blueward and redward of the Balmer break. This enables the detection of LRDs over a wider redshift range and with less contamination from galaxies with strong breaks that otherwise lack a rising red continuum. The redshift distribution of our sample increases at z < 8 and then undergoes a rapid decline at z ∼ 4.5, which may tie the emergence of these sources to the inside-out growth that galaxies experience during this epoch. We find that LRDs are ∼1 dex more numerous than X-ray- and UV-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) at z ∼ 5-7. Within our sample, we have identified the first two X-ray-detected LRDs. An X-ray spectral analysis confirms that these AGN are moderately obscured with ${\mathrm{log}}\,({N}_{{\rm{H}}}/{{\rm{cm}}}^{2}$) of $23.{3}_{-1.3}^{+0.4}$ and $22.7{2}_{-0.16}^{+0.13}$. Our analysis reveals that reddened AGN emission dominates their rest-optical light, while the rest-UV originates from their host galaxies. We also present NIRSpec observations from the RUBIES survey of 17 LRDs that show broad emission lines consistent with AGN activity. The confirmed AGN fraction of our sample is 71% for sources with F444W < 26.5. In addition, we find three LRDs with blueshifted Balmer absorption features in their spectra, suggesting an outflow of high-density, low-ionization gas from near the central engine of these faint, red AGN.

Abstract Copyright: © 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.

Journal keyword(s): Active galactic nuclei - Supermassive black holes

Nomenclature: Tables 3+6: [KFB2025] CEERS NNNNNN N=64+34 among (Nos 260-124311), [KFB2025] NGDEEP NNNNN N=10+20 among (Nos 306-17789), [KFB2025] JADES NNNNN N=46+35 among (Nos 430-85727), [KFB2025] PRIMER-COS NNNNNN N=81+28 among (Nos 2144-116484), [KFB2025] PRIMER-UDS NNNNNN N=117+58 among (Nos 268-191777), [KFB2025] UNCOVER NNNNN N=23+20 among (Nos 1279-35436).

Status at CDS : Large table(s) will be appraised for possible ingestion in VizieR.

Simbad objects: 32

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Number of rows : 32
N Identifier Otype ICRS (J2000)
RA 		ICRS (J2000)
DEC 		Mag U Mag B Mag V Mag R Mag I Sp type #ref
1850 - 2026 		#notes
1 UNCOVER DR1 28343 AGN 00 14 07.202 -30 21 28.85           ~ 10 0
2 UNCOVER DR1 30782 AGN 00 14 08.159 -30 21 11.91           ~ 8 0
3 UNCOVER DR1 6430 AGN 00 14 12.201 -30 24 23.75           ~ 7 0
4 UNCOVER DR1 20080 AGN 00 14 16.703 -30 22 23.60           ~ 4 0
5 [FZP2023] A2744-QSO1 AGN 00 14 19.159 -30 24 05.65           ~ 37 0
6 ACO 2744 ClG 00 14 20.03 -30 23 17.8           ~ 1077 0
7 UNCOVER DR1 8798 AGN 00 14 28.946 -30 23 59.82           ~ 10 0
8 UNCOVER DR1 13556 AGN 00 14 33.698 -30 23 11.18           ~ 16 0
9 RUBIES-UDS-44043 AGN 02 16 58.036 -05 14 21.97           ~ 2 0
10 CANDELS UDS F160W J021658.60-051444.9 AGN 02 16 58.6075 -05 14 44.949   27.627 27.056 26.958   ~ 26 0
11 RUBIES-UDS-59971 AGN 02 17 02.529 -05 12 32.83           ~ 1 0
12 CANDELS UDS F160W J021703.49-051357.1 AGN 02 17 03.4989 -05 13 57.198           ~ 4 0
13 RUBIES-UDS-63166 AGN 02 17 14.914 -05 12 09.17           ~ 1 0
14 RUBIES-UDS-50716 AGN 02 17 15.152 -05 13 36.35           ~ 1 0
15 [LBX2017] 372 AGN 03 32 20.88761 -27 52 22.5962   25.324 26.80 24.91 25.249 ~ 34 0
16 NAME Chandra Deep Field-South reg 03 32 28.0 -27 48 30           ~ 2282 1
17 NAME GOODS Southern Field reg 03 32 28.0 -27 48 30           ~ 1623 1
18 JADES-GS+053.12654-27.81809 AGN 03 32 30.37 -27 49 05.1           ~ 24 0
19 COSMOS2015 739170 QSO 10 00 24.24 +02 25 09.9   26.736 24.796     ~ 26 0
20 NAME COSMOS Field reg 10 00 28.60 +02 12 21.0           ~ 3639 0
21 NAME Extended Groth Strip reg 14 19 +52.8           ~ 1023 0
22 CANDELS EGS F160W J141910.9+524719.7 AGN 14 19 10.909 +52 47 19.72           ~ 8 0
23 [ADF2023] CEERS MSA 746 AGN 14 19 14.1940 +52 52 06.541           ~ 27 0
24 RUBIES-EGS-42232 AGN 14 19 32.830 +52 51 19.37           ~ 4 0
25 [ADF2023] CEERS MSA 672 AGN 14 19 33.5225 +52 49 58.717           ~ 12 0
26 CEERS J141934.14+525238.6 AGN 14 19 34.140 +52 52 38.66           ~ 13 0
27 RUBIES-EGS-60935 AGN 14 19 41.610 +52 55 32.13           ~ 3 0
28 RUBIES-EGS-61496 AGN 14 19 53.387 +52 57 43.91           ~ 1 0
29 CANDELS EGS F160W J141955.9+525721.7 AGN 14 19 55.925 +52 57 21.60           ~ 20 0
30 RUBIES-EGS-37124 AGN 14 19 57.834 +52 54 59.49           ~ 2 0
31 RUBIES-EGS-927271 AGN 14 20 18.782 +52 56 54.61           ~ 1 0
32 RUBIES-EGS-926125 AGN 14 20 32.899 +52 59 18.79           ~ 3 0

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