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Main Authors: Ma, Yilun, Greene, Jenny E., Setton, David J., Goulding, Andy D., Annunziatella, Marianna, Fan, Xiaohui, Kokorev, Vasily, Labbe, Ivo, Li, Jiaxuan, Lin, Xiaojing, Marchesini, Danilo, Matthee, Jorryt, Robbins, Luke, Sajina, Anna, Sawicki, Marcin, Telford, O. Grace
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.08032
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author Ma, Yilun
Greene, Jenny E.
Setton, David J.
Goulding, Andy D.
Annunziatella, Marianna
Fan, Xiaohui
Kokorev, Vasily
Labbe, Ivo
Li, Jiaxuan
Lin, Xiaojing
Marchesini, Danilo
Matthee, Jorryt
Robbins, Luke
Sajina, Anna
Sawicki, Marcin
Telford, O. Grace
author_facet Ma, Yilun
Greene, Jenny E.
Setton, David J.
Goulding, Andy D.
Annunziatella, Marianna
Fan, Xiaohui
Kokorev, Vasily
Labbe, Ivo
Li, Jiaxuan
Lin, Xiaojing
Marchesini, Danilo
Matthee, Jorryt
Robbins, Luke
Sajina, Anna
Sawicki, Marcin
Telford, O. Grace
contents Little red dots (LRDs) are a population of red, compact objects discovered by JWST at $z>4$. At $4<z<8$, they are roughly 100 times more abundant than UV-selected quasars. However, their number density is uncertain at $z<4$ due to the small sky coverage and limited blue wavelength coverage of JWST. We present our ground-based search for LRDs at $2\lesssim z\lesssim4$, combining ultra-deep Hyper Suprime-Cam photometry and various (near-)infrared surveys within a total area of $\sim3.1\,\mathrm{deg^{2}}$. We find that for LRDs with $M_{5500}<-22.5$, their number density declines from $\sim10^{-4.5}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $z>4$ to $\sim10^{-5.3}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $2.7<z<3.7$ and $\sim10^{-5.7}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $1.7<z<2.7$. We also present the Magellan/FIRE spectrum of our first followed-up candidate, DEEP23-z2LRD1 at $z_\mathrm{spec}=2.26$, as a proof of concept for our sample selection. Similar to high-redshift LRDs, the spectrum of DEEP23-z2LRD1 exhibits broad H$α$ emission with $\mathrm{FWHM}\approx2400\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$ and with nearly symmetric narrow H$α$ absorption. Additionally, DEEP23-z2LRD1 has extremely narrow [OIII] lines with $\mathrm{FWHM}\approx140\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, suggesting the presence of an accreting black hole in a low-mass host galaxy. Limited by the angular resolution of ground-based surveys, we emphasize that spectroscopic follow-ups are required to characterize the contamination fraction of this sample and pin down LRD number density at $z<4$.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Counting Little Red Dots at $z<4$ with Ground-based Surveys and Spectroscopic Follow-up
Ma, Yilun
Greene, Jenny E.
Setton, David J.
Goulding, Andy D.
Annunziatella, Marianna
Fan, Xiaohui
Kokorev, Vasily
Labbe, Ivo
Li, Jiaxuan
Lin, Xiaojing
Marchesini, Danilo
Matthee, Jorryt
Robbins, Luke
Sajina, Anna
Sawicki, Marcin
Telford, O. Grace
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Little red dots (LRDs) are a population of red, compact objects discovered by JWST at $z>4$. At $4<z<8$, they are roughly 100 times more abundant than UV-selected quasars. However, their number density is uncertain at $z<4$ due to the small sky coverage and limited blue wavelength coverage of JWST. We present our ground-based search for LRDs at $2\lesssim z\lesssim4$, combining ultra-deep Hyper Suprime-Cam photometry and various (near-)infrared surveys within a total area of $\sim3.1\,\mathrm{deg^{2}}$. We find that for LRDs with $M_{5500}<-22.5$, their number density declines from $\sim10^{-4.5}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $z>4$ to $\sim10^{-5.3}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $2.7<z<3.7$ and $\sim10^{-5.7}\,\mathrm{cMpc^{-3}}$ at $1.7<z<2.7$. We also present the Magellan/FIRE spectrum of our first followed-up candidate, DEEP23-z2LRD1 at $z_\mathrm{spec}=2.26$, as a proof of concept for our sample selection. Similar to high-redshift LRDs, the spectrum of DEEP23-z2LRD1 exhibits broad H$α$ emission with $\mathrm{FWHM}\approx2400\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$ and with nearly symmetric narrow H$α$ absorption. Additionally, DEEP23-z2LRD1 has extremely narrow [OIII] lines with $\mathrm{FWHM}\approx140\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, suggesting the presence of an accreting black hole in a low-mass host galaxy. Limited by the angular resolution of ground-based surveys, we emphasize that spectroscopic follow-ups are required to characterize the contamination fraction of this sample and pin down LRD number density at $z<4$.
title Counting Little Red Dots at $z<4$ with Ground-based Surveys and Spectroscopic Follow-up
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.08032