---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21999'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: JWST has revealed an abundance of supermassive black holes (BHs) in the early
Universe, and yet the lowest mass seed BHs that gave rise to these populations
remain elusive. Here, we present a systematic search for broad-line active galactic
nuclei (AGNs) in some of the faintest high-z galaxies surveyed yet by combining
ultra-deep JWST/NIRSpec G395M spectroscopy with the strong lensing aid in AS1063.
By employing the profile of the [O iii]λ5007 emission lines as a template for
narrow-line components and carefully cross-validating with mock observations,
we identify a sample of 10 broad-line AGNs at 4.5 < z < 7.0 (eight secure, two
tentative). The inferred BH masses from the broad Hα line explore the intermediate
BH mass regime down to ∼105.5 M⊙. The stellar mass (M*) is estimated with a galaxy+AGN
composite model, and we find the BH to stellar mass ratio spans down to MBH/M*
≲ 0.1%, unveiling populations on the empirical MBH–M* relation observed in the
local Universe. We also derive the BH mass function and investigate its low-mass
end at this epoch. While we confirm the agreement of our results with previous
studies at MBH ≳ 106.5M⊙, we find the mass range of ∼105.5 M⊙ features an enhanced
abundance with respect to the extrapolated best-fit Schechter function. Comparison
with theoretical models suggests that a possible origin for this enhanced abundance
is the direct-collapse BH formation, supporting the scenario that the direct collapse
of massive gas clouds is a significant pathway for the earliest supermassive BHs.
acknowledgement: 'We thank the anonymous referee for insightful comments, which significantly
improved the manuscript. We acknowledge Kohei Inayoshi for helpful discussions.
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. The specific
observations analyzed can be accessed via DOI: 10.17909/4byn-fe55 and 10.17909/v2y7-j922.
These observations are associated with programs #3293 and #9223. S.F. and Q.F. acknowledge
support from the Dunlap Institute, which is funded through an endowment established
by the David Dunlap family and the University of Toronto. A.S.L. acknowledges support
from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. A.Z. acknowledges support by grant
No. 2020750 from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) and
grant No. 2109066 from the United States National Science Foundation (NSF); and
by the Israel Science Foundation grant No. 864/23.'
article_number: '244'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
arxiv: 1
author:
- first_name: Qinyue
full_name: Fei, Qinyue
last_name: Fei
- first_name: Seiji
full_name: Fujimoto, Seiji
last_name: Fujimoto
- first_name: Rohan P.
full_name: Naidu, Rohan P.
last_name: Naidu
- first_name: John
full_name: Chisholm, John
last_name: Chisholm
- first_name: Hakim
full_name: Atek, Hakim
last_name: Atek
- first_name: Gabriel
full_name: Brammer, Gabriel
last_name: Brammer
- first_name: Yoshihisa
full_name: Asada, Yoshihisa
last_name: Asada
- first_name: Danielle A.
full_name: Berg, Danielle A.
last_name: Berg
- first_name: Volker
full_name: Bromm, Volker
last_name: Bromm
- first_name: Lukas J.
full_name: Furtak, Lukas J.
last_name: Furtak
- first_name: Jenny E.
full_name: Greene, Jenny E.
last_name: Greene
- first_name: Tiger Yu Yang
full_name: Hsiao, Tiger Yu Yang
last_name: Hsiao
- first_name: Junehyoung
full_name: Jeon, Junehyoung
last_name: Jeon
- first_name: Vasily
full_name: Kokorev, Vasily
last_name: Kokorev
- 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: Priyamvada
full_name: Natarajan, Priyamvada
last_name: Natarajan
- first_name: Richard
full_name: Pan, Richard
last_name: Pan
- first_name: Johan
full_name: Richard, Johan
last_name: Richard
- first_name: Alberto
full_name: Saldana-Lopez, Alberto
last_name: Saldana-Lopez
- first_name: Daniel
full_name: Schaerer, Daniel
last_name: Schaerer
- first_name: Marta
full_name: Volonteri, Marta
last_name: Volonteri
- first_name: Adi
full_name: Zitrin, Adi
last_name: Zitrin
citation:
ama: 'Fei Q, Fujimoto S, Naidu RP, et al. A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes
in the epoch of reionization: Witnessing the descendants of direct collapse? The
Astrophysical Journal. 2026;1003(2). doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248'
apa: 'Fei, Q., Fujimoto, S., Naidu, R. P., Chisholm, J., Atek, H., Brammer, G.,
… Zitrin, A. (2026). A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes in the epoch of
reionization: Witnessing the descendants of direct collapse? The Astrophysical
Journal. IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248'
chicago: 'Fei, Qinyue, Seiji Fujimoto, Rohan P. Naidu, John Chisholm, Hakim Atek,
Gabriel Brammer, Yoshihisa Asada, et al. “A GLIMPSE of Intermediate Mass Black
Holes in the Epoch of Reionization: Witnessing the Descendants of Direct Collapse?”
The Astrophysical Journal. IOP Publishing, 2026. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248.'
ieee: 'Q. Fei et al., “A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes in the
epoch of reionization: Witnessing the descendants of direct collapse?,” The
Astrophysical Journal, vol. 1003, no. 2. IOP Publishing, 2026.'
ista: 'Fei Q, Fujimoto S, Naidu RP, Chisholm J, Atek H, Brammer G, Asada Y, Berg
DA, Bromm V, Furtak LJ, Greene JE, Hsiao TYY, Jeon J, Kokorev V, Matthee JJ, Natarajan
P, Pan R, Richard J, Saldana-Lopez A, Schaerer D, Volonteri M, Zitrin A. 2026.
A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes in the epoch of reionization: Witnessing
the descendants of direct collapse? The Astrophysical Journal. 1003(2), 244.'
mla: 'Fei, Qinyue, et al. “A GLIMPSE of Intermediate Mass Black Holes in the Epoch
of Reionization: Witnessing the Descendants of Direct Collapse?” The Astrophysical
Journal, vol. 1003, no. 2, 244, IOP Publishing, 2026, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248.'
short: Q. Fei, S. Fujimoto, R.P. Naidu, J. Chisholm, H. Atek, G. Brammer, Y. Asada,
D.A. Berg, V. Bromm, L.J. Furtak, J.E. Greene, T.Y.Y. Hsiao, J. Jeon, V. Kokorev,
J.J. Matthee, P. Natarajan, R. Pan, J. Richard, A. Saldana-Lopez, D. Schaerer,
M. Volonteri, A. Zitrin, The Astrophysical Journal 1003 (2026).
das_tickbox: '0'
dataavailabilitystatement: '10.17909/4byn-fe55 and 10.17909/v2y7-j922 used with Software:
LMFIT (M. Newville et al. 2014) msafit (A. de Graaff et al. 2024). - Text extracted
from Acknowledgements, no separate DAS'
date_created: 2026-06-14T22:01:43Z
date_published: 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-22T11:34:52Z
day: '01'
ddc:
- '520'
department:
- _id: JoMa
doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ae6248
external_id:
arxiv:
- '2509.20452'
file:
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intvolume: ' 1003'
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language:
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month: '06'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
publication: The Astrophysical Journal
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1538-4357
issn:
- 0004-637X
publication_status: published
publisher: IOP Publishing
quality_controlled: '1'
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status: public
supplementarymaterial: yes
title: 'A GLIMPSE of intermediate mass Black Holes in the epoch of reionization: Witnessing
the descendants of direct collapse?'
tmp:
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legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
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type: journal_article
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