Crimson Behemoth: A massive clumpy structure hosting a dusty AGN at z=4.91

Abstract The current paradigm for the co-evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes postulates that dust-obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) represent a transitional phase towards a more luminous and unobscured state. However, our understanding of dusty AGNs and their host galaxies at early cosmic times is inadequate due to observational limitations. Here, we present JWST observations of CID-931, an X-ray-detected AGN at a spectroscopic redshift of $z_{\rm spec}=4.91$. Multiband NIRCam imaging from the COSMOS-Web program reveals an unresolved red core, similar to JWST-discovered dusty AGNs. Strikingly, the red core is surrounded by at least eight massive star-forming clumps spread over ${1{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}6} \approx 10\,\,{\rm kpc}$, each of which has a stellar mass of $10^9$–$10^{10}\, M_{\odot }$ and a radius of $\sim$0.1–1 kpc. The whole system amounts to $10^{11}\, M_{\odot }$ in stellar mass, higher than typical star-forming galaxies at the same epoch. In this system, gas inflows and/or complex merger events may trigger clump formation and AGN activity, thus leading to the rapid formation of a massive galaxy hosting a supermassive black hole. Future follow-up observations will provide new insights into the evolution of the galaxy–black hole relationship during such transitional phases in the early universe.

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Journal
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Published
2024-11-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/pasj/psae091
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
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article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.66

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article

Crimson Behemoth: A massive clumpy structure hosting a dusty AGN at z=4.91

Seiji Fujimoto, Xuheng Ding, Zhaoxuan Liu, Francesco Valentino et al.
5 citations
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
1.66
article

Crimson Behemoth: A massive clumpy structure hosting a dusty AGN at z=4.91

Seiji Fujimoto, Xuheng Ding, Zhaoxuan Liu, Francesco Valentino, Masafusa Onoue, Yurina Nakazato, Marko Shuntov, Hollis B. Akins, G. Gozaliasl, Shuowen Jin, Aidan Kaminsky, Vasily Kokorev, J. D. Silverman, Joyce S. Sterling, R. Massey, Boris S. Kalita, H. J. McCracken, Christopher C. Hayward, Kazuhiro Shimasaku, Anton M. Koekemoer, Qinyue Fei, Benny Trakhtenbrot, Zahra Sattari, Caitlin M. Casey, Yoshinobu Fudamoto, I.T Andika, Maximilien Franco, Erini Lambrides, Daniel Ceverino, Jason Rhodes, Namrata Roy, Brant E. Robertson, Steven Gillman, Naoki Yoshida, Nima Chartab, Sune Toft, Jeyhan S. Kartaltepe, Daizhong Liu, Takumi S. Tanaka, Andreas L. Faisst, Michaela Hirschmann
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Abstract The current paradigm for the co-evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes postulates that dust-obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) represent a transitional phase towards a more luminous and unobscured state. However, our understanding of dusty AGNs and their host galaxies at early cosmic times is inadequate due to observational limitations. Here, we present JWST observations of CID-931, an X-ray-detected AGN at a spectroscopic redshift of $z_{\rm spec}=4.91$. Multiband NIRCam imaging from the COSMOS-Web program reveals an unresolved red core, similar to JWST-discovered dusty AGNs. Strikingly, the red core is surrounded by at least eight massive star-forming clumps spread over ${1{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}6} \approx 10\,\,{\rm kpc}$, each of which has a stellar mass of $10^9$–$10^{10}\, M_{\odot }$ and a radius of $\sim$0.1–1 kpc. The whole system amounts to $10^{11}\, M_{\odot }$ in stellar mass, higher than typical star-forming galaxies at the same epoch. In this system, gas inflows and/or complex merger events may trigger clump formation and AGN activity, thus leading to the rapid formation of a massive galaxy hosting a supermassive black hole. Future follow-up observations will provide new insights into the evolution of the galaxy–black hole relationship during such transitional phases in the early universe.

Publications of the Astronomical Society of JapanVol. 76(6)
University of California, Riverside (US), California Institute of Technology (US), University of Copenhagen (DK), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Space Telescope Science Institute (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), European Southern Observatory (DE), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), University of Helsinki (FI), Johns Hopkins University (US), University of Miami (US), Rochester Institute of Technology (US), Universidad de La Laguna (ES), Chiba University (JP), Tel Aviv University (IL), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), University of Groningen (NL), University of California, Santa Cruz (US), Durham University (GB), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Peking University (CN), Université Paris Cité (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Observatoire de Paris (FR), Helsinki Institute of Physics (FI), Trieste Astronomical Observatory (IT), Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (FR), Purple Mountain Observatory (CN), Wuhan University (CN), Sorbonne Université (FR), Sorbonne Paris Cité (FR), Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (DE), Laboratoire d’Etudes du Rayonnement et de la Matière en Astrophysique et Atmosphères (FR), Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (CN), DAWN Center for Independent Living (US), Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (JP), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR), Carnegie Observatories (US), Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (ES), Flatiron Health (United States) (US), National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (JP), Beijing Haidian Hospital (CN), Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (US), Flatiron Institute (US), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), Technical University of Munich (DE), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), The University of Tokyo (JP), The University of Texas at Austin (US), Technical University of Denmark (DK), Aalto University (FI)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute, European Commission, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
1.66
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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