James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a population of ‘Little Red Dots’ (LRDs): compact, red objects at redshifts (Formula presented) with ‘v’-shaped spectral energy distributions, broad permitted lines, and, often, hydrogen Balmer absorption. We use NIRSpec/IFS data from the BlackTHUNDER survey to study the H α line in the LRD Abell2744-QSO1 at (Formula presented), which is a confirmed active galactic nucleus (AGN) due to time-variable equivalent width (EW) in its broad emission lines. The H α spectral profile is non-Gaussian, requiring at least two Gaussian components. We also detect a narrow-line Gaussian component, and strong H α absorption (EW relative to the continuum (Formula presented)), confirming a connection between the strong Balmer break and line absorption. The absorber is at rest with respect to broad H α, suggesting that the gas cannot be interpreted as an inflow or outflow, forming instead a long-lived structure. Its velocity dispersion is (Formula presented) (Formula presented), consistent with the value inferred from the analysis of the Balmer break. Based on H α, we infer a black hole mass of (Formula presented), smaller but close to the previous estimates based on H β. The Eddington ratio is 0.09. Combining the high signal-to-noise ratio of the narrow H α line with the spectral resolution (Formula presented) of the G395H grating, we infer a narrow-line intrinsic dispersion (Formula presented) (Formula presented), which places a stringent constraint on the black hole-to-dynamical mass ratio of this system to be (Formula presented), confirming the overmassive nature of the black hole and potentially leaving little room for a host galaxy.
BlackTHUNDER strikes twice: Balmer-line absorption in an overmassive Little Red Dot at z = 7.04 / D'Eugenio F., Maiolino R., Perna M., Ubler H., Ji X., McClymont W., Koudmani S., Sijacki D., Juodzbalis I., Scholtz J., Bennett J.S., Bunker A.J., Carniani S., Charlot S., Cresci G., Curtis-Lake E., Bonta E.D., Inayoshi K., Jones G.C., Lyu J., et al.. - In: MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. - ISSN 0035-8711. - ELETTRONICO. - 547:(2026), pp. 0-0. [10.1093/mnras/stag401]
BlackTHUNDER strikes twice: Balmer-line absorption in an overmassive Little Red Dot at z = 7.04
Maiolino R.;Ji X.;Carniani S.;Cresci G.;Marconi A.;Venturi G.;
2026
Abstract
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a population of ‘Little Red Dots’ (LRDs): compact, red objects at redshifts (Formula presented) with ‘v’-shaped spectral energy distributions, broad permitted lines, and, often, hydrogen Balmer absorption. We use NIRSpec/IFS data from the BlackTHUNDER survey to study the H α line in the LRD Abell2744-QSO1 at (Formula presented), which is a confirmed active galactic nucleus (AGN) due to time-variable equivalent width (EW) in its broad emission lines. The H α spectral profile is non-Gaussian, requiring at least two Gaussian components. We also detect a narrow-line Gaussian component, and strong H α absorption (EW relative to the continuum (Formula presented)), confirming a connection between the strong Balmer break and line absorption. The absorber is at rest with respect to broad H α, suggesting that the gas cannot be interpreted as an inflow or outflow, forming instead a long-lived structure. Its velocity dispersion is (Formula presented) (Formula presented), consistent with the value inferred from the analysis of the Balmer break. Based on H α, we infer a black hole mass of (Formula presented), smaller but close to the previous estimates based on H β. The Eddington ratio is 0.09. Combining the high signal-to-noise ratio of the narrow H α line with the spectral resolution (Formula presented) of the G395H grating, we infer a narrow-line intrinsic dispersion (Formula presented) (Formula presented), which places a stringent constraint on the black hole-to-dynamical mass ratio of this system to be (Formula presented), confirming the overmassive nature of the black hole and potentially leaving little room for a host galaxy.I documenti in FLORE sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.



