Princeton University Thunch Talk

Early results of JWST observation have revealed an unexpected abundance of red compact objects dubbed little red dots (LRDs) at z>4. These objects display a faint blue rest-frame UV continuum followed by a steep red rise in the rest-frame optical. The presence of broad emission lines with FWHM>2000km/s suggests their AGN nature, but the lack of X-ray and hot dust emission commonly associated with accreting SMBHs as well as the Balmer breaks in LRD spectra seem to defy such an explanation. The high number density of LRDs (100x more than UV-selected quasars and a few percent of galaxy population at high-z) signifies the important roles they could play at galaxy/SMBH growth and evolution, but their nature remains unclear. In this talk, we will update the department on our ongoing efforts to understand the nature of these intriguing objects.