---
res:
  bibo_abstract:
  - 'We compile a sample of 83 little red dots (LRDs) with JWST imaging and find that
    a substantial fraction (∼43%, rising to ≳80% for the most luminous LRDs) host
    one or more spatially offset, UV-bright companions at projected separations of
    0.5 kpc ≲ d ≲ 5 kpc, with median 〈d〉 = 1.0 kpc. This fraction is even higher when
    smaller spatial scales are probed at high signal-to-noise ratio: the two most
    strongly lensed LRDs, A383-LRD1 and the newly discovered A68-LRD1, both have UV-bright
    companions at separations of only d ∼ 0.3 kpc, below the resolution limit of most
    unlensed JWST samples. We explore whether these ubiquitous red/blue configurations
    may be physically linked to the formation of LRDs, in analogy with the “synchronized
    pair” scenario originally proposed for direct-collapse black hole formation. In
    this picture, UV radiation from the companions, with typically modest stellar
    masses (M∗ ∼ 108−109 M⊙), suppresses molecular hydrogen cooling in nearby gas,
    allowing nearly isothermal collapse and the formation of extremely compact objects,
    such as massive black holes, supermassive stars, or quasi-stars. Using component-resolved
    photometry and spectral energy distribution modeling, we infer Lyman–Werner radiation
    fields of J21,LW ∼ 102.5–105 at the locations of the red components, comparable
    to those required in direct-collapse models, suggesting that the necessary photodissociation
    conditions are realized in many LRD systems. This framework provides a simple
    and self-consistent explanation for the extreme compactness and distinctive spectral
    properties of LRDs and links long-standing theoretical models for early compact
    object formation directly to a population now observed with JWST in the early
    Universe.@eng'
  bibo_authorlist:
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Josephine F.W.
      foaf_name: Baggen, Josephine F.W.
      foaf_surname: Baggen
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Matthew T.
      foaf_name: Scoggins, Matthew T.
      foaf_surname: Scoggins
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Pieter
      foaf_name: Van Dokkum, Pieter
      foaf_surname: Van Dokkum
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Zoltán
      foaf_name: Haiman, Zoltán
      foaf_surname: Haiman
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36
    orcid: 0000-0003-3633-5403
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Alberto
      foaf_name: Torralba Torregrosa, Alberto
      foaf_surname: Torralba Torregrosa
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=018f0249-0e87-11f0-b167-cbce08fbd541
    orcid: 0000-0001-5586-6950
  - foaf_Person:
      foaf_givenName: Jorryt J
      foaf_name: Matthee, Jorryt J
      foaf_surname: Matthee
      foaf_workInfoHomepage: http://www.librecat.org/personId=7439a258-f3c0-11ec-9501-9df22fe06720
    orcid: 0000-0003-2871-127X
  bibo_doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae58a5
  bibo_issue: '1'
  bibo_volume: 1002
  dct_date: 2026^xs_gYear
  dct_isPartOf:
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/2041-8205
  - http://id.crossref.org/issn/2041-8213
  dct_language: eng
  dct_publisher: IOP Publishing@
  dct_title: 'Connecting the dots: UV-bright companions of Little Red Dots as Lyman–Werner
    sources enabling direct-collapse Black Hole formation@'
...