Big Red Dot Discovery Sheds Light on Black Hole Growth at Cosmic Noon

Astronomy

Big Red Dot Discovery Sheds Light on Black Hole Growth at Cosmic Noon

Discovery of a luminous red AGN at cosmic noon with outflow features

From

Arxiv

Astronomers have discovered a bright “big red dot” (BiRD) galaxy at cosmic noon (z=2.33) with unusual emission lines and gas outflows, shedding light on early black hole growth.

Why it matters: BiRD and similar LRDs may represent rapid early black hole growth phases common at cosmic noon.

The big picture: LRDs have space densities close to UV-selected quasars, indicating they are a significant AGN population.

Stunning stat: The BiRD black hole mass is about 100 million solar masses, with bolometric luminosity near 3×10^45 erg/s.

Quick takeaway: Blueshifted helium absorption reveals fast gas outflows (~830 km/s) likely common in LRDs during black hole seed growth.