---
APC_amount: 5666,27 EUR
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '15180'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Characterizing the prevalence and properties of faint active galactic nuclei
(AGNs) in the early Universe is key for understanding the formation of supermassive
black holes (SMBHs) and determining their role in cosmic reionization. We perform
a spectroscopic search for broad Hα emitters at z ≈ 4–6 using deep JWST/NIRCam
imaging and wide field slitless spectroscopy from the EIGER and FRESCO surveys.
We identify 20 Hα lines at z = 4.2–5.5 that have broad components with line widths
from ∼1200–3700 km s−1, contributing ∼30%–90% of the total line flux. We interpret
these broad components as being powered by accretion onto SMBHs with implied masses
∼107–8M⊙. In the UV luminosity range MUV,AGN+host = −21 to −18, we measure number
densities of ≈10−5 cMpc−3. This is an order of magnitude higher than expected
from extrapolating quasar UV luminosity functions (LFs). Yet, such AGN are found
in only <1% of star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 5. The number density discrepancy
is much lower when compared to the broad Hα LF. The SMBH mass function agrees
with large cosmological simulations. In two objects, we detect complex Hα profiles
that we tentatively interpret as caused by absorption signatures from dense gas
fueling SMBH growth and outflows. We may be witnessing early AGN feedback that
will clear dust-free pathways through which more massive blue quasars are seen.
We uncover a strong correlation between reddening and the fraction of total galaxy
luminosity arising from faint AGN. This implies that early SMBH growth is highly
obscured and that faint AGN are only minor contributors to cosmic reionization.
acknowledgement: "We thank the anonymous referee for constructive comments that helped
improve the manuscript. This work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA
James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the Mikulski Archive for
Space Telescopes at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by
the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract
NAS 5-03127 for JWST. These observations are associated with program Nos. 1243 and
1895. The specific observations analyzed can be accessed via doi:10.17909/4xx0-zj76.
Funded by the European Union (ERC, AGENTS, 101076224). Views and opinions expressed
are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of
the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union
nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. R.P.N. acknowledges
funding from JWST programs GO-1933 and GO-2279. Support for this work for R.P.N.
was provided by NASA through the NASA Hubble Fellowship grant HST-HF2-51515.001-A
awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association
of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
Support for this work for G.I. was provided by NASA through grant JWST-GO-01895
awarded by the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association
of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research
and Innovation (SERI) under contract No. MB22.00072, as well as from the Swiss National
Science Foundation (SNSF) through project grant 200020_207349. The Cosmic Dawn Center
(DAWN) is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant No. 140.\r\nFacility:
JWST - James Webb Space Telescope, HST - Hubble Space Telescope satellite\r\nSoftware:
Python, matplotlib (Hunter 2007), numpy (Harris et al. 2020), scipy (Virtanen et
al. 2020), Astropy (Astropy Collaboration et al. 2013, 2018), Imfit (Erwin 2015)."
article_number: '129'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jorryt J
full_name: Matthee, Jorryt J
id: 7439a258-f3c0-11ec-9501-9df22fe06720
last_name: Matthee
orcid: 0000-0003-2871-127X
- first_name: Rohan P.
full_name: Naidu, Rohan P.
last_name: Naidu
- first_name: Gabriel
full_name: Brammer, Gabriel
last_name: Brammer
- first_name: John
full_name: Chisholm, John
last_name: Chisholm
- first_name: Anna-Christina
full_name: Eilers, Anna-Christina
last_name: Eilers
- first_name: Andy
full_name: Goulding, Andy
last_name: Goulding
- first_name: Jenny
full_name: Greene, Jenny
last_name: Greene
- first_name: Daichi
full_name: Kashino, Daichi
last_name: Kashino
- first_name: Ivo
full_name: Labbe, Ivo
last_name: Labbe
- first_name: Simon J.
full_name: Lilly, Simon J.
last_name: Lilly
- first_name: Ruari
full_name: Mackenzie, Ruari
last_name: Mackenzie
- first_name: Pascal A.
full_name: Oesch, Pascal A.
last_name: Oesch
- first_name: Andrea
full_name: Weibel, Andrea
last_name: Weibel
- first_name: Stijn
full_name: Wuyts, Stijn
last_name: Wuyts
- first_name: Mengyuan
full_name: Xiao, Mengyuan
last_name: Xiao
- first_name: Rongmon
full_name: Bordoloi, Rongmon
last_name: Bordoloi
- first_name: Rychard
full_name: Bouwens, Rychard
last_name: Bouwens
- first_name: Pieter
full_name: van Dokkum, Pieter
last_name: van Dokkum
- first_name: Garth
full_name: Illingworth, Garth
last_name: Illingworth
- first_name: Ivan
full_name: Kramarenko, Ivan
last_name: Kramarenko
- first_name: Michael V.
full_name: Maseda, Michael V.
last_name: Maseda
- first_name: Charlotte
full_name: Mason, Charlotte
last_name: Mason
- first_name: Romain A.
full_name: Meyer, Romain A.
last_name: Meyer
- first_name: Erica J.
full_name: Nelson, Erica J.
last_name: Nelson
- first_name: Naveen A.
full_name: Reddy, Naveen A.
last_name: Reddy
- first_name: Irene
full_name: Shivaei, Irene
last_name: Shivaei
- first_name: Robert A.
full_name: Simcoe, Robert A.
last_name: Simcoe
- first_name: Minghao
full_name: Yue, Minghao
last_name: Yue
citation:
ama: 'Matthee JJ, Naidu RP, Brammer G, et al. Little Red Dots: An abundant population
of faint active galactic nuclei at z ∼ 5 revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST
surveys. The Astrophysical Journal. 2024;963(2). doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad2345'
apa: 'Matthee, J. J., Naidu, R. P., Brammer, G., Chisholm, J., Eilers, A.-C., Goulding,
A., … Yue, M. (2024). Little Red Dots: An abundant population of faint active
galactic nuclei at z ∼ 5 revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST surveys. The
Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad2345'
chicago: 'Matthee, Jorryt J, Rohan P. Naidu, Gabriel Brammer, John Chisholm, Anna-Christina
Eilers, Andy Goulding, Jenny Greene, et al. “Little Red Dots: An Abundant Population
of Faint Active Galactic Nuclei at z ∼ 5 Revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST
Surveys.” The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad2345.'
ieee: 'J. J. Matthee et al., “Little Red Dots: An abundant population of
faint active galactic nuclei at z ∼ 5 revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST surveys,”
The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 963, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2024.'
ista: 'Matthee JJ, Naidu RP, Brammer G, Chisholm J, Eilers A-C, Goulding A, Greene
J, Kashino D, Labbe I, Lilly SJ, Mackenzie R, Oesch PA, Weibel A, Wuyts S, Xiao
M, Bordoloi R, Bouwens R, van Dokkum P, Illingworth G, Kramarenko I, Maseda MV,
Mason C, Meyer RA, Nelson EJ, Reddy NA, Shivaei I, Simcoe RA, Yue M. 2024. Little
Red Dots: An abundant population of faint active galactic nuclei at z ∼ 5 revealed
by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST surveys. The Astrophysical Journal. 963(2), 129.'
mla: 'Matthee, Jorryt J., et al. “Little Red Dots: An Abundant Population of Faint
Active Galactic Nuclei at z ∼ 5 Revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST Surveys.”
The Astrophysical Journal, vol. 963, no. 2, 129, IOP Publishing, 2024,
doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad2345.'
short: J.J. Matthee, R.P. Naidu, G. Brammer, J. Chisholm, A.-C. Eilers, A. Goulding,
J. Greene, D. Kashino, I. Labbe, S.J. Lilly, R. Mackenzie, P.A. Oesch, A. Weibel,
S. Wuyts, M. Xiao, R. Bordoloi, R. Bouwens, P. van Dokkum, G. Illingworth, I.
Kramarenko, M.V. Maseda, C. Mason, R.A. Meyer, E.J. Nelson, N.A. Reddy, I. Shivaei,
R.A. Simcoe, M. Yue, The Astrophysical Journal 963 (2024).
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2024-03-25T08:54:47Z
date_published: 2024-03-07T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-07-06T12:20:54Z
day: '07'
ddc:
- '550'
department:
- _id: JoMa
doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad2345
external_id:
isi:
- '001184703600001'
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- access_level: open_access
checksum: dc7af4694f9f94a551417ab49fa43edf
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creator: dernst
date_created: 2024-03-25T09:31:58Z
date_updated: 2024-03-25T09:31:58Z
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relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2024-03-25T09:31:58Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 963'
isi: 1
issue: '2'
keyword:
- Space and Planetary Science
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
month: '03'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: bd9b2118-d553-11ed-ba76-db24564edfea
grant_number: '101076224'
name: Young galaxies as tracers and agents of cosmic reionization
publication: The Astrophysical Journal
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1538-4357
issn:
- 0004-637X
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
link:
- description: News on ISTA website
relation: press_release
url: https://ista.ac.at/en/news/baby-quasars-growing-supermassive-black-holes/
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Little Red Dots: An abundant population of faint active galactic nuclei at
z ∼ 5 revealed by the EIGER and FRESCO JWST surveys'
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 963
year: '2024'
...