X-RAY VIEW OF LITTLE RED DOTS: DO THEY HOST SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES?

X-RAY VIEW OF LITTLE RED DOTS: DO THEY HOST SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES?

June 14, 2024 | Tonima Tasnim Ananna, Ákos Bogdán, Orsolya E. Kovács, Priyamvada Natarajan, Ryan C. Hickox
The discovery of Little Red Dots (LRDs), a population of compact, high-redshift, dust-reddened galaxies, is a surprising result from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). However, the nature of LRDs remains debated: does their near-infrared emission originate from accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or intense star formation? This study uses ultra-deep Chandra X-ray observations to investigate LRDs behind the lensing galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The X-ray emission from individual galaxies was probed but remained undetected, with SMBH mass upper limits of less than 1.5–16 × 10⁶ M☉. A stacking analysis of the full sample with a total lensed exposure time of ~87 Ms revealed a hint of a stacked signal (2.6σ), corresponding to an SMBH mass of ~3.2 × 10⁶ M☉. This mass is at least 1.5 orders of magnitude lower than that inferred from virial mass estimates using JWST spectra. The results suggest that LRDs do not host over-massive SMBHs or accrete at a few percent of their Eddington limit. However, alternative stellar mass estimates may still support that LRDs host over-massive BHs. The significant discrepancy between JWST and Chandra data suggests that scaling relations used to infer SMBH mass from Hα line and virial relations may not be applicable for high-redshift LRDs. The study concludes that LRDs likely host SMBHs with masses consistent with scaling relations for local and moderate redshift AGN or accrete at a small fraction of their Eddington limit. The results also suggest that LRDs may originate from low-mass seeds rather than heavy seeds. The findings highlight the importance of X-ray observations in understanding the nature of LRDs and their SMBHs.The discovery of Little Red Dots (LRDs), a population of compact, high-redshift, dust-reddened galaxies, is a surprising result from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). However, the nature of LRDs remains debated: does their near-infrared emission originate from accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or intense star formation? This study uses ultra-deep Chandra X-ray observations to investigate LRDs behind the lensing galaxy cluster Abell 2744. The X-ray emission from individual galaxies was probed but remained undetected, with SMBH mass upper limits of less than 1.5–16 × 10⁶ M☉. A stacking analysis of the full sample with a total lensed exposure time of ~87 Ms revealed a hint of a stacked signal (2.6σ), corresponding to an SMBH mass of ~3.2 × 10⁶ M☉. This mass is at least 1.5 orders of magnitude lower than that inferred from virial mass estimates using JWST spectra. The results suggest that LRDs do not host over-massive SMBHs or accrete at a few percent of their Eddington limit. However, alternative stellar mass estimates may still support that LRDs host over-massive BHs. The significant discrepancy between JWST and Chandra data suggests that scaling relations used to infer SMBH mass from Hα line and virial relations may not be applicable for high-redshift LRDs. The study concludes that LRDs likely host SMBHs with masses consistent with scaling relations for local and moderate redshift AGN or accrete at a small fraction of their Eddington limit. The results also suggest that LRDs may originate from low-mass seeds rather than heavy seeds. The findings highlight the importance of X-ray observations in understanding the nature of LRDs and their SMBHs.
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