{"oa":1,"tmp":{"legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","short":"CC BY (4.0)","image":"/images/cc_by.png","name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)"},"status":"public","file_date_updated":"2025-09-02T06:40:23Z","DOAJ_listed":"1","arxiv":1,"type":"journal_article","title":"MIDIS: MIRI uncovers Virgil, the first Little Red Dot with clear detection of its host galaxy at z ≃ 6.6","has_accepted_license":"1","OA_type":"gold","doi":"10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6","publisher":"IOP Publishing","user_id":"317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345","publication_status":"published","scopus_import":"1","date_created":"2025-08-24T22:01:29Z","date_published":"2025-08-20T00:00:00Z","acknowledgement":"The authors thank R. Cooper, G. Yang, V. Kokorev, D. Wen, C. Williams, and H. Übler for useful discussions and comments.\r\nE.I. and K.I.C. acknowledge funding from the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA). K.I.C. acknowledges funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) through the award of the Vici grant VI.C.212.036. A.A.-H. acknowledges support from grant PID2021-124665NB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe.” P.G.P.-G. acknowledges support from grant PID2022-139567NB-I00 funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, FEDER Una manera de hacer Europa. J.A.-M., A.C.-G., and L.C. acknowledge support by grant PIB2021-127718NB-100 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Agency of Research MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe.” L.C. thanks the support from the Cosmic Dawn Center received during visits to DAWN as an international associate. L.C. acknowledges support by grants PIB2021-127718NB-100 and PID2022-139567NB-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation/State Agency of Research MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe.” T.R.G. acknowledges support from the Carlsberg Foundation (grant No. CF20-0534). S.G. acknowledges financial support from the Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), funded by the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF) under grant No. 140. This work was supported by research grants (VIL16599, VIL54489) from VILLUM FONDEN. J.P.P. and T.V.T. acknowledge financial support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council and the UK Space Agency.\r\n\r\nThis work is based on observations made with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. The data were obtained from the MAST 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 programs GO #1963, GO #1895, and GTO #1283. The authors acknowledge the team led by co-PIs: C. Williams, M. Maseda, and S. Tacchella, and PI P. Oesch, for developing their respective observing programs with a zero-exclusive-access period. Also based on observations made with the NASA/ESA HST obtained from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. The work presented here is the effort of the entire MIRI team, and the enthusiasm within the MIRI partnership is a significant factor in its success. MIRI draws on the scientific and technical expertise of the following organizations: Ames Research Center, USA; Airbus Defence and Space, UK; CEA-Irfu, Saclay, France; Centre Spatial de Liège, Belgium; Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Spain; Carl Zeiss Optronics, Germany; Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden; Danish Space Research Institute, Denmark; Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland; European Space Agency, Netherlands; ETCA, Belgium; ETH Zurich, Switzerland; Goddard Space Flight Center, USA; Institute d’Astrophysique Spatiale, France; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Spain; Institute for Astronomy, Edinburgh, UK; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA; Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM), France; Leiden University, Netherlands; Lockheed Advanced Technology Center (USA); NOVA Opt-IR group at Dwingeloo, Netherlands; Northrop Grumman, USA; Max-Planck Institut für Astronomie (MPIA), Heidelberg, Germany; Laboratoire d’Etudes Spatiales et d’Instrumentation en Astrophysique (LESIA), France; Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland; Raytheon Vision Systems, USA; RUAG Aerospace, Switzerland; Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL Space), UK; Space Telescope Science Institute, USA; Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO-TPD), Netherlands; UK Astronomy Technology Centre, UK; University College London, UK; University of Amsterdam, Netherlands; University of Arizona, USA; University of Cardiff, UK; University of Cologne, Germany; University of Ghent; University of Groningen, Netherlands; University of Leicester, UK; University of Leuven, Belgium; University of Stockholm, Sweden; Utah State University, USA.\r\nFor the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to the Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.","quality_controlled":"1","article_type":"original","volume":989,"OA_place":"publisher","article_number":"160","date_updated":"2025-09-30T14:23:10Z","author":[{"last_name":"Iani","first_name":"Edoardo","full_name":"Iani, Edoardo","id":"4053390a-6b68-11ef-9828-a3b8adef8d0a"},{"first_name":"Pierluigi","last_name":"Rinaldi","full_name":"Rinaldi, Pierluigi"},{"last_name":"Caputi","first_name":"Karina I.","full_name":"Caputi, Karina I."},{"full_name":"Annunziatella, Marianna","last_name":"Annunziatella","first_name":"Marianna"},{"full_name":"Langeroodi, Danial","first_name":"Danial","last_name":"Langeroodi"},{"last_name":"Melinder","first_name":"Jens","full_name":"Melinder, Jens"},{"full_name":"Pérez-González, Pablo G.","last_name":"Pérez-González","first_name":"Pablo G."},{"full_name":"Álvarez-Márquez, Javier","first_name":"Javier","last_name":"Álvarez-Márquez"},{"full_name":"Boogaard, Leindert A.","first_name":"Leindert A.","last_name":"Boogaard"},{"first_name":"Sarah E.I.","last_name":"Bosman","full_name":"Bosman, Sarah E.I."},{"first_name":"Luca","last_name":"Costantin","full_name":"Costantin, Luca"},{"full_name":"Moutard, Thibaud","first_name":"Thibaud","last_name":"Moutard"},{"full_name":"Colina, Luis","last_name":"Colina","first_name":"Luis"},{"first_name":"Göran","last_name":"Östlin","full_name":"Östlin, Göran"},{"full_name":"Greve, Thomas R.","first_name":"Thomas R.","last_name":"Greve"},{"full_name":"Wright, Gillian","last_name":"Wright","first_name":"Gillian"},{"full_name":"Alonso-Herrero, Almudena","last_name":"Alonso-Herrero","first_name":"Almudena"},{"full_name":"Bik, Arjan","first_name":"Arjan","last_name":"Bik"},{"first_name":"Steven","last_name":"Gillman","full_name":"Gillman, Steven"},{"last_name":"Crespo Gómez","first_name":"Alejandro","full_name":"Crespo Gómez, Alejandro"},{"full_name":"Hjorth, Jens","first_name":"Jens","last_name":"Hjorth"},{"full_name":"Kendrew, Sarah","first_name":"Sarah","last_name":"Kendrew"},{"full_name":"Labiano, Alvaro","first_name":"Alvaro","last_name":"Labiano"},{"first_name":"John P.","last_name":"Pye","full_name":"Pye, John P."},{"full_name":"Tikkanen, Tuomo V.","first_name":"Tuomo V.","last_name":"Tikkanen"},{"last_name":"Walter","first_name":"Fabian","full_name":"Walter, Fabian"},{"last_name":"Güdel","first_name":"Manuel","full_name":"Güdel, Manuel"},{"full_name":"Henning, Thomas","last_name":"Henning","first_name":"Thomas"},{"full_name":"Van Der Werf, Paul P.","last_name":"Van Der Werf","first_name":"Paul P."}],"day":"20","file":[{"content_type":"application/pdf","file_name":"2025_AstrophysicalJour_Iani.pdf","creator":"dernst","success":1,"file_size":5474992,"date_updated":"2025-09-02T06:40:23Z","checksum":"92196e8352dddb1f305c253da1996ab6","relation":"main_file","file_id":"20268","access_level":"open_access","date_created":"2025-09-02T06:40:23Z"}],"_id":"20217","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1538-4357"],"issn":["0004-637X"]},"year":"2025","publication":"Astrophysical Journal","external_id":{"isi":["001548132000001"],"arxiv":["2406.18207"]},"oa_version":"Published Version","article_processing_charge":"Yes","department":[{"_id":"JoMa"}],"abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"We present Virgil, a Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) extremely red object detected with the F1000W filter as part of the MIRI Deep Imaging Survey observations of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. Virgil is an Lyα emitter (LAE) at zspec = 6.6312 ± 0.0019 (from the Very Large Telescope/MUSE) with a rest-frame UV-to-optical spectral energy distribution (SED) typical of LAEs at similar redshifts. However, MIRI observations reveal an unexpected extremely red color at rest-frame near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, F444W − F1000W = 2.33 ± 0.06. Such a steep\r\nrise in the NIR, completely missed without MIRI imaging, is poorly reproduced by models including only stellar populations and hints toward the presence of an active galactic nucleus, although alternative explanations such as extreme dust obscuration and strong nebular continuum and emission lines contribution due to young stellar ages cannot be completely ruled out. According to the shape of its overall SED, Virgil belongs to the recently discovered\r\npopulation of little red dots but displays an extended rest-frame UV-optical wavelength morphology following a 2DSérsic profile with an average index of n = 0.93+0.85_0.31 and re = 0.49+0.05_0.11  pkpc. Only at MIRI wavelengths, Virgil is unresolved due to the coarser point-spread function. This discovery demonstrates the crucial importance of deep MIRI surveys to reveal the true nature and properties of high-z galaxies that otherwise would be misinterpreted and raises the question of how common Virgil-like objects could be in the early Universe."}],"ddc":["520"],"issue":"2","month":"08","intvolume":"       989","isi":1,"PlanS_conform":"1","citation":{"apa":"Iani, E., Rinaldi, P., Caputi, K. I., Annunziatella, M., Langeroodi, D., Melinder, J., … Van Der Werf, P. P. (2025). MIDIS: MIRI uncovers Virgil, the first Little Red Dot with clear detection of its host galaxy at z ≃ 6.6. <i>Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6\">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6</a>","ieee":"E. Iani <i>et al.</i>, “MIDIS: MIRI uncovers Virgil, the first Little Red Dot with clear detection of its host galaxy at z ≃ 6.6,” <i>Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 989, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2025.","ista":"Iani E, Rinaldi P, Caputi KI, Annunziatella M, Langeroodi D, Melinder J, Pérez-González PG, Álvarez-Márquez J, Boogaard LA, Bosman SEI, Costantin L, Moutard T, Colina L, Östlin G, Greve TR, Wright G, Alonso-Herrero A, Bik A, Gillman S, Crespo Gómez A, Hjorth J, Kendrew S, Labiano A, Pye JP, Tikkanen TV, Walter F, Güdel M, Henning T, Van Der Werf PP. 2025. MIDIS: MIRI uncovers Virgil, the first Little Red Dot with clear detection of its host galaxy at z ≃ 6.6. Astrophysical Journal. 989(2), 160.","short":"E. Iani, P. Rinaldi, K.I. Caputi, M. Annunziatella, D. Langeroodi, J. Melinder, P.G. Pérez-González, J. Álvarez-Márquez, L.A. Boogaard, S.E.I. Bosman, L. Costantin, T. Moutard, L. Colina, G. Östlin, T.R. Greve, G. Wright, A. Alonso-Herrero, A. Bik, S. Gillman, A. Crespo Gómez, J. Hjorth, S. Kendrew, A. Labiano, J.P. Pye, T.V. Tikkanen, F. Walter, M. Güdel, T. Henning, P.P. Van Der Werf, Astrophysical Journal 989 (2025).","ama":"Iani E, Rinaldi P, Caputi KI, et al. MIDIS: MIRI uncovers Virgil, the first Little Red Dot with clear detection of its host galaxy at z ≃ 6.6. <i>Astrophysical Journal</i>. 2025;989(2). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6\">10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6</a>","mla":"Iani, Edoardo, et al. “MIDIS: MIRI Uncovers Virgil, the First Little Red Dot with Clear Detection of Its Host Galaxy at z ≃ 6.6.” <i>Astrophysical Journal</i>, vol. 989, no. 2, 160, IOP Publishing, 2025, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6\">10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6</a>.","chicago":"Iani, Edoardo, Pierluigi Rinaldi, Karina I. Caputi, Marianna Annunziatella, Danial Langeroodi, Jens Melinder, Pablo G. Pérez-González, et al. “MIDIS: MIRI Uncovers Virgil, the First Little Red Dot with Clear Detection of Its Host Galaxy at z ≃ 6.6.” <i>Astrophysical Journal</i>. IOP Publishing, 2025. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6\">https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade5a6</a>."},"language":[{"iso":"eng"}]}