[{"_id":"22751","scopus_import":"1","date_published":"2026-08-13T00:00:00Z","quality_controlled":"1","date_updated":"2026-09-07T12:50:34Z","oa":1,"dataavailabilitystatement":"The prism spectra obtained as part of JWST-GO-5224 (MoM) featured in this work are available on Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15059214). All processed images and spectra used in this work are publicly available via the DAWN JWST archive (https://dawn-cph.github.io/dja/). All results presented may be reproduced with the open-access reduced data described above and using the following publicly available software whose use is referenced in the text: msaexp, grizli, astropy, Cloudy, SpectRes, pysersic, COLT and numpyro.","page":"329-333","file_date_updated":"2026-09-07T12:49:32Z","volume":656,"status":"public","title":"A gas-enshrouded and gas-reddened black hole at cosmic dawn","month":"08","researchdata_availability":"yes","ddc":["520"],"pmid":1,"OA_type":"hybrid","author":[{"first_name":"Rohan P.","full_name":"Naidu, Rohan P.","last_name":"Naidu"},{"first_name":"Jorryt J","orcid":"0000-0003-2871-127X","last_name":"Matthee","id":"7439a258-f3c0-11ec-9501-9df22fe06720","full_name":"Matthee, Jorryt J"},{"first_name":"Harley","last_name":"Katz","full_name":"Katz, Harley"},{"last_name":"De Graaff","full_name":"De Graaff, Anna","first_name":"Anna"},{"last_name":"Oesch","full_name":"Oesch, Pascal A.","first_name":"Pascal A."},{"full_name":"Smith, Aaron","last_name":"Smith","first_name":"Aaron"},{"first_name":"Jenny E.","last_name":"Greene","full_name":"Greene, Jenny E."},{"full_name":"Brammer, Gabriel","last_name":"Brammer","first_name":"Gabriel"},{"first_name":"Andrea","full_name":"Weibel, Andrea","last_name":"Weibel"},{"full_name":"Hviding, Raphael","last_name":"Hviding","first_name":"Raphael"},{"full_name":"Chisholm, John","last_name":"Chisholm","first_name":"John"},{"first_name":"Ivo","last_name":"Labbé","full_name":"Labbé, Ivo"},{"first_name":"Robert A.","last_name":"Simcoe","full_name":"Simcoe, Robert A."},{"full_name":"Witten, Callum","last_name":"Witten","first_name":"Callum"},{"first_name":"Wendy Q.","full_name":"Sun, Wendy Q.","last_name":"Sun"},{"first_name":"Hakim","full_name":"Atek, Hakim","last_name":"Atek"},{"full_name":"Baggen, Josephine F.W.","last_name":"Baggen","first_name":"Josephine F.W."},{"first_name":"Sirio","last_name":"Belli","full_name":"Belli, Sirio"},{"first_name":"Rachel","full_name":"Bezanson, Rachel","last_name":"Bezanson"},{"first_name":"Leindert A.","full_name":"Boogaard, Leindert A.","last_name":"Boogaard"},{"full_name":"Bose, Sownak","last_name":"Bose","first_name":"Sownak"},{"full_name":"Bouwens, Rychard J.","last_name":"Bouwens","first_name":"Rychard J."},{"first_name":"Alba","last_name":"Covelo-Paz","full_name":"Covelo-Paz, Alba"},{"first_name":"Pratika","last_name":"Dayal","full_name":"Dayal, Pratika"},{"last_name":"Fudamoto","full_name":"Fudamoto, Yoshinobu","first_name":"Yoshinobu"},{"last_name":"Furtak","full_name":"Furtak, Lukas J.","first_name":"Lukas J."},{"full_name":"Giovinazzo, Emma","last_name":"Giovinazzo","first_name":"Emma"},{"first_name":"Andy","full_name":"Goulding, Andy","last_name":"Goulding"},{"first_name":"Max","full_name":"Gronke, Max","last_name":"Gronke"},{"full_name":"Heintz, Kasper E.","last_name":"Heintz","first_name":"Kasper E."},{"first_name":"Michaela","full_name":"Hirschmann, Michaela","last_name":"Hirschmann"},{"last_name":"Illingworth","full_name":"Illingworth, Garth","first_name":"Garth"},{"first_name":"Akio K.","last_name":"Inoue","full_name":"Inoue, Akio K."},{"first_name":"Benjamin D.","full_name":"Johnson, Benjamin D.","last_name":"Johnson"},{"first_name":"Joel","last_name":"Leja","full_name":"Leja, Joel"},{"last_name":"Leonova","full_name":"Leonova, Ecaterina","first_name":"Ecaterina"},{"full_name":"Mcconachie, Ian","last_name":"Mcconachie","first_name":"Ian"},{"full_name":"Maseda, Michael V.","last_name":"Maseda","first_name":"Michael V."},{"first_name":"Priyamvada","last_name":"Natarajan","full_name":"Natarajan, Priyamvada"},{"full_name":"Nelson, Erica","last_name":"Nelson","first_name":"Erica"},{"first_name":"David J.","last_name":"Setton","full_name":"Setton, David J."},{"first_name":"Irene","full_name":"Shivaei, Irene","last_name":"Shivaei"},{"first_name":"David","full_name":"Sobral, David","last_name":"Sobral"},{"last_name":"Stefanon","full_name":"Stefanon, Mauro","first_name":"Mauro"},{"first_name":"Sandro","full_name":"Tacchella, Sandro","last_name":"Tacchella"},{"first_name":"Sune","last_name":"Toft","full_name":"Toft, Sune"},{"full_name":"Torralba Torregrosa, Alberto","id":"018f0249-0e87-11f0-b167-cbce08fbd541","last_name":"Torralba Torregrosa","orcid":"0000-0001-5586-6950","first_name":"Alberto"},{"first_name":"Pieter","full_name":"Van Dokkum, Pieter","last_name":"Van Dokkum"},{"first_name":"Arjen","full_name":"Van Der Wel, Arjen","last_name":"Van Der Wel"},{"full_name":"Volonteri, Marta","last_name":"Volonteri","first_name":"Marta"},{"last_name":"Walter","full_name":"Walter, Fabian","first_name":"Fabian"},{"last_name":"Wang","full_name":"Wang, Bingjie","first_name":"Bingjie"},{"first_name":"Darach","full_name":"Watson, Darach","last_name":"Watson"},{"first_name":"Katherine","full_name":"Whitaker, Katherine","last_name":"Whitaker"}],"supplementarymaterial":"yes","OA_place":"publisher","date_created":"2026-08-23T22:01:46Z","fulldoi":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4","file":[{"date_created":"2026-09-07T12:49:32Z","relation":"main_file","file_name":"2026_Nature_Naidu.pdf","content_type":"application/pdf","creator":"dernst","file_id":"22841","access_level":"open_access","checksum":"80127691cb39deb39948c337f6915f7b","file_size":15134062,"success":1,"date_updated":"2026-09-07T12:49:32Z"}],"acknowledgement":"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 programs 5224 and 3543. R.P.N. is a NASA Hubble Fellow. D.J.S. is a Brinson Prize Fellow. Some of the data products presented in this study were retrieved from the DJA. DJA is an initiative of the Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), which is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant DNRF140. We acknowledge funding from JWST programmes GO-3516, GO-5224 and GO-1837. Support for this work 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. Funded by the European Union (ERC AGENTS, 101076224; HEAVYMETAL, 101071865; RED CARDINAL, 101076080). 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. This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under contract number MB22.00072, as well as from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) through project grant 200020_207349. This work was also supported by JSPS KAKENHI grant no. 23H00131. The Cosmic Dawn Center is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation under grant DNRF140. P.N. acknowledges support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation that fund the Black Hole Initiative (BHI) at Harvard University, where she serves as an external prinicpal investigator. S. Bose acknowledges funding from a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Leaders Fellowship (grant no. MR/V023381/1).","das_tickbox":"1","publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1476-4687"],"issn":["0028-0836"]},"article_type":"original","abstract":[{"text":"The physical processes that led to the formation of billion-solar-mass black holes within the first 700 million years of cosmic time, a period known as cosmic dawn, remain a puzzle1. Several theoretical scenarios have been proposed to seed and rapidly grow black holes2,3,4, but direct observations of these mechanisms remain elusive. Here we present a source 660 million years after the Big Bang that exhibits singular properties: among the largest hydrogen Balmer breaks reported at any redshift, broad multi-peaked Hβ emission, and Balmer line absorption in several transitions. We model this source as an enshrouded black hole in which the Balmer break and absorption features are a result of extremely dense, turbulent gas forming a dust-free envelope around a supermassive black hole5,6. This source may provide evidence of an early black hole embedded in dense gas—a theoretical configuration proposed to rapidly grow black holes by super-Eddington accretion7,8. Radiation from the black hole seems to dominate almost all observed light, leaving limited room for contribution from its host galaxy. If the source merged with its brighter neighbour, it would resemble the recently discovered ‘little red dots’ with perplexing spectral energy distributions9,10,11. The redness of the black hole is due to gas, not dust12,13, and scattering, not kinematics, gives rise to the complex line shapes and luminosities—black hole masses of these sources may therefore be overestimated by orders of magnitude.","lang":"eng"}],"year":"2026","department":[{"_id":"JoMa"}],"issue":"8127","type":"journal_article","publisher":"Springer Nature","doi":"10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4","publication_status":"published","user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"citation":{"ista":"Naidu RP, Matthee JJ, Katz H, De Graaff A, Oesch PA, Smith A, Greene JE, Brammer G, Weibel A, Hviding R, Chisholm J, Labbé I, Simcoe RA, Witten C, Sun WQ, Atek H, Baggen JFW, Belli S, Bezanson R, Boogaard LA, Bose S, Bouwens RJ, Covelo-Paz A, Dayal P, Fudamoto Y, Furtak LJ, Giovinazzo E, Goulding A, Gronke M, Heintz KE, Hirschmann M, Illingworth G, Inoue AK, Johnson BD, Leja J, Leonova E, Mcconachie I, Maseda MV, Natarajan P, Nelson E, Setton DJ, Shivaei I, Sobral D, Stefanon M, Tacchella S, Toft S, Torralba Torregrosa A, Van Dokkum P, Van Der Wel A, Volonteri M, Walter F, Wang B, Watson D, Whitaker K. 2026. A gas-enshrouded and gas-reddened black hole at cosmic dawn. Nature. 656(8127), 329–333.","mla":"Naidu, Rohan P., et al. “A Gas-Enshrouded and Gas-Reddened Black Hole at Cosmic Dawn.” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 656, no. 8127, Springer Nature, 2026, pp. 329–33, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4\">10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4</a>.","apa":"Naidu, R. P., Matthee, J. J., Katz, H., De Graaff, A., Oesch, P. A., Smith, A., … Whitaker, K. (2026). A gas-enshrouded and gas-reddened black hole at cosmic dawn. <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4</a>","chicago":"Naidu, Rohan P., Jorryt J Matthee, Harley Katz, Anna De Graaff, Pascal A. Oesch, Aaron Smith, Jenny E. Greene, et al. “A Gas-Enshrouded and Gas-Reddened Black Hole at Cosmic Dawn.” <i>Nature</i>. Springer Nature, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4\">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4</a>.","short":"R.P. Naidu, J.J. Matthee, H. Katz, A. De Graaff, P.A. Oesch, A. Smith, J.E. Greene, G. Brammer, A. Weibel, R. Hviding, J. Chisholm, I. Labbé, R.A. Simcoe, C. Witten, W.Q. Sun, H. Atek, J.F.W. Baggen, S. Belli, R. Bezanson, L.A. Boogaard, S. Bose, R.J. Bouwens, A. Covelo-Paz, P. Dayal, Y. Fudamoto, L.J. Furtak, E. Giovinazzo, A. Goulding, M. Gronke, K.E. Heintz, M. Hirschmann, G. Illingworth, A.K. Inoue, B.D. Johnson, J. Leja, E. Leonova, I. Mcconachie, M.V. Maseda, P. Natarajan, E. Nelson, D.J. Setton, I. Shivaei, D. Sobral, M. Stefanon, S. Tacchella, S. Toft, A. Torralba Torregrosa, P. Van Dokkum, A. Van Der Wel, M. Volonteri, F. Walter, B. Wang, D. Watson, K. Whitaker, Nature 656 (2026) 329–333.","ama":"Naidu RP, Matthee JJ, Katz H, et al. A gas-enshrouded and gas-reddened black hole at cosmic dawn. <i>Nature</i>. 2026;656(8127):329-333. doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4\">10.1038/s41586-026-10846-4</a>","ieee":"R. P. Naidu <i>et al.</i>, “A gas-enshrouded and gas-reddened black hole at cosmic dawn,” <i>Nature</i>, vol. 656, no. 8127. Springer Nature, pp. 329–333, 2026."},"publication":"Nature","tmp":{"short":"CC BY (4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","image":"/images/cc_by.png"},"article_processing_charge":"Yes (in subscription journal)","has_accepted_license":"1","external_id":{"pmid":["42587117"]},"intvolume":"       656","day":"13","oa_version":"Published Version","PlanS_conform":"1"}]