A big red dot at cosmic noon

We report the discovery of a little red dot (LRD), dubbed BiRD ('big red dot'), at $z=2.33$ in the field around the $z=6.3$ quasar SDSSJ1030+0524. Using NIRCam images, we identified it as a bright outlier in the $F200W-F356W$ color vs $F356W$ magnitude diagram of point sources in the field...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Loiacono, Federica, Gilli, Roberto, Mignoli, Marco, Mazzolari, Giovanni, Decarli, Roberto, Brusa, Marcella, Calura, Francesco, Chiaberge, Marco, Comastri, Andrea, D'Amato, Quirino, Iwasawa, Kazushi, Juodžbalis, Ignas, Lanzuisi, Giorgio, Maiolino, Roberto, Marchesi, Stefano, Norman, Colin, Peca, Alessandro, Prandoni, Isabella, Sapori, Matteo, Signorini, Matilde, Tozzi, Paolo, Vanzella, E., Vignali, Cristian, Vito, Fabio, Zamorani, G.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/411009
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/411009
http://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12141v2
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Galaxies: active
Galaxies: high-redshift
Quasars: absorption lines
Quasars: supermassive black holes
id ES_1f6ea1efec0d69340f238f82a8edb521
oai_identifier_str oai:digital.csic.es:10261/411009
network_acronym_str ES
network_name_str España
repository_id_str
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv A big red dot at cosmic noon
title A big red dot at cosmic noon
spellingShingle A big red dot at cosmic noon
Loiacono, Federica
Galaxies: active
Galaxies: high-redshift
Quasars: absorption lines
Quasars: supermassive black holes
title_short A big red dot at cosmic noon
title_full A big red dot at cosmic noon
title_fullStr A big red dot at cosmic noon
title_full_unstemmed A big red dot at cosmic noon
title_sort A big red dot at cosmic noon
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Loiacono, Federica
Gilli, Roberto
Mignoli, Marco
Mazzolari, Giovanni
Decarli, Roberto
Brusa, Marcella
Calura, Francesco
Chiaberge, Marco
Comastri, Andrea
D'Amato, Quirino
Iwasawa, Kazushi
Juodžbalis, Ignas
Lanzuisi, Giorgio
Maiolino, Roberto
Marchesi, Stefano
Norman, Colin
Peca, Alessandro
Prandoni, Isabella
Sapori, Matteo
Signorini, Matilde
Tozzi, Paolo
Vanzella, E.
Vignali, Cristian
Vito, Fabio
Zamorani, G.
author Loiacono, Federica
author_facet Loiacono, Federica
Gilli, Roberto
Mignoli, Marco
Mazzolari, Giovanni
Decarli, Roberto
Brusa, Marcella
Calura, Francesco
Chiaberge, Marco
Comastri, Andrea
D'Amato, Quirino
Iwasawa, Kazushi
Juodžbalis, Ignas
Lanzuisi, Giorgio
Maiolino, Roberto
Marchesi, Stefano
Norman, Colin
Peca, Alessandro
Prandoni, Isabella
Sapori, Matteo
Signorini, Matilde
Tozzi, Paolo
Vanzella, E.
Vignali, Cristian
Vito, Fabio
Zamorani, G.
author_role author
author2 Gilli, Roberto
Mignoli, Marco
Mazzolari, Giovanni
Decarli, Roberto
Brusa, Marcella
Calura, Francesco
Chiaberge, Marco
Comastri, Andrea
D'Amato, Quirino
Iwasawa, Kazushi
Juodžbalis, Ignas
Lanzuisi, Giorgio
Maiolino, Roberto
Marchesi, Stefano
Norman, Colin
Peca, Alessandro
Prandoni, Isabella
Sapori, Matteo
Signorini, Matilde
Tozzi, Paolo
Vanzella, E.
Vignali, Cristian
Vito, Fabio
Zamorani, G.
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica
European Commission
European Research Council
UK Research and Innovation
Huo Family Foundation
Royal Society (UK)
Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca
NASA
Loiacono, Federica [0000-0002-8858-6784]
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Galaxies: active
Galaxies: high-redshift
Quasars: absorption lines
Quasars: supermassive black holes
topic Galaxies: active
Galaxies: high-redshift
Quasars: absorption lines
Quasars: supermassive black holes
description We report the discovery of a little red dot (LRD), dubbed BiRD ('big red dot'), at $z=2.33$ in the field around the $z=6.3$ quasar SDSSJ1030+0524. Using NIRCam images, we identified it as a bright outlier in the $F200W-F356W$ color vs $F356W$ magnitude diagram of point sources in the field. The NIRCam/WFSS spectrum reveals the emission from HeI$λ10830$ and PaG line, both showing a narrow and a broad ($FWHM\gtrsim 2000\ \rm kms^{-1}$) component. The HeI line is affected by an absorption feature, tracing dense gas with HeI column density in the $2^3S$ level $N\sim 0.5-1.2\times 10^{14}\rm cm^{-2}$, depending on the location of the absorber, which is outflowing at the speed of $Δv \sim -830\ \rm kms^{-1}$. As observed in the majority of LRDs, BiRD does not show X-ray or radio emission. The BH mass and the bolometric luminosity, both inferred from the PaG broad component, amount to $M_{\rm BH}\sim 10^8\rm M_{\odot}$ and $L_{\rm bol}\sim 2.9\times 10^{45}\rm ergs^{-1}$, respectively. Intriguingly, BiRD presents strict analogies with other two LRDs spectroscopically confirmed at cosmic noon, GN-28074 ("Rosetta Stone") at $z=2.26$ and RUBIES-BLAGN-1 at $z=3.1$. The blueshifted HeI absorption detected in all three sources suggests that gas outflows may be common in LRDs. We derive a first estimate of the space density of LRDs at $z<3$ based on JWST data, as a function of $L_{\rm bol}$ and BH mass. The space density is only a factor of $\sim 2-3$ lower than that of UV-selected quasars with comparable $L_{\rm bol}$ and $z$, meaning that the contribution of LRDs to the broader AGN population is also relevant at cosmic noon. A similar trend is also observed in terms of BH masses. If, as suggested by recent theories, LRDs probe the very first and rapid growth of black hole seeds, our finding may suggest that the formation of black hole seeds remains efficient at least up to cosmic noon.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025
2025
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Publisher's version
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/411009
http://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12141v2
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/411009
http://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12141v2
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv #PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI//PID2022-136827NB-C44
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/695671
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202555946

dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv EDP Sciences
publisher.none.fl_str_mv EDP Sciences
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
_version_ 1869404400398630912
spelling A big red dot at cosmic noonLoiacono, FedericaGilli, RobertoMignoli, MarcoMazzolari, GiovanniDecarli, RobertoBrusa, MarcellaCalura, FrancescoChiaberge, MarcoComastri, AndreaD'Amato, QuirinoIwasawa, KazushiJuodžbalis, IgnasLanzuisi, GiorgioMaiolino, RobertoMarchesi, StefanoNorman, ColinPeca, AlessandroPrandoni, IsabellaSapori, MatteoSignorini, MatildeTozzi, PaoloVanzella, E.Vignali, CristianVito, FabioZamorani, G.Galaxies: activeGalaxies: high-redshiftQuasars: absorption linesQuasars: supermassive black holesWe report the discovery of a little red dot (LRD), dubbed BiRD ('big red dot'), at $z=2.33$ in the field around the $z=6.3$ quasar SDSSJ1030+0524. Using NIRCam images, we identified it as a bright outlier in the $F200W-F356W$ color vs $F356W$ magnitude diagram of point sources in the field. The NIRCam/WFSS spectrum reveals the emission from HeI$λ10830$ and PaG line, both showing a narrow and a broad ($FWHM\gtrsim 2000\ \rm kms^{-1}$) component. The HeI line is affected by an absorption feature, tracing dense gas with HeI column density in the $2^3S$ level $N\sim 0.5-1.2\times 10^{14}\rm cm^{-2}$, depending on the location of the absorber, which is outflowing at the speed of $Δv \sim -830\ \rm kms^{-1}$. As observed in the majority of LRDs, BiRD does not show X-ray or radio emission. The BH mass and the bolometric luminosity, both inferred from the PaG broad component, amount to $M_{\rm BH}\sim 10^8\rm M_{\odot}$ and $L_{\rm bol}\sim 2.9\times 10^{45}\rm ergs^{-1}$, respectively. Intriguingly, BiRD presents strict analogies with other two LRDs spectroscopically confirmed at cosmic noon, GN-28074 ("Rosetta Stone") at $z=2.26$ and RUBIES-BLAGN-1 at $z=3.1$. The blueshifted HeI absorption detected in all three sources suggests that gas outflows may be common in LRDs. We derive a first estimate of the space density of LRDs at $z<3$ based on JWST data, as a function of $L_{\rm bol}$ and BH mass. The space density is only a factor of $\sim 2-3$ lower than that of UV-selected quasars with comparable $L_{\rm bol}$ and $z$, meaning that the contribution of LRDs to the broader AGN population is also relevant at cosmic noon. A similar trend is also observed in terms of BH masses. If, as suggested by recent theories, LRDs probe the very first and rapid growth of black hole seeds, our finding may suggest that the formation of black hole seeds remains efficient at least up to cosmic noon.We thank the referee for their useful and constructive comments. We thank Guido Risaliti for useful discussion and for kindly providing us with the data-points of Fig. 6. We acknowledge support from the INAF 2022/2023 “Ricerca Fondamentale” grants. K.I. acknowledges support under the grant PID2022-136827NB-C44 provided by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 / FEDER, UE. I.J. and R.M. acknowledges support by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), by the ERC through Advanced Grant 695671 “QUENCH”, and by the UKRI Frontier Research grant RISEandFALL. I.J. acknowledges support also by the Huo Family Foundation through a P.C. Ho PhD Studentship. R.M. also acknowledges funding from a research professorship from the Royal Society. M.S. acknowledges financial support from the Italian Ministry for University and Research, through the grant PNRR-M4C2- I1.1-PRIN 2022-PE9-SEAWIND: Super-Eddington Accretion: Wind, INflow and Disk-F53D23001250006-NextGenerationEU. 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 the GTO program 1243.Peer reviewedEDP SciencesMinisterio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)Istituto Nazionale di AstrofisicaEuropean CommissionEuropean Research CouncilUK Research and InnovationHuo Family FoundationRoyal Society (UK)Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della RicercaNASALoiacono, Federica [0000-0002-8858-6784]Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202520252025info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Publisher's versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/411009http://arxiv.org/abs/2506.12141v2reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI//PID2022-136827NB-C44info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/695671https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202555946Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/4110092026-05-22T06:33:51Z
score 15,81155