COSMOS-3D: Dense Circumnuclear Gas across Black Hole Growth Phases at z ~ 3

TL;DR

This study discovers two high-redshift AGNs with dense circumnuclear gas, revealing diverse obscuration properties and suggesting such dense gas is common at early cosmic times, influencing black hole growth and galaxy evolution.

Contribution

First detection of dense circumnuclear gas in z~3 AGNs using JWST NIRCam spectroscopy, highlighting its role in AGN obscuration and evolution.

Findings

Both AGNs show dense circumnuclear gas signatures.

Cid_414 has low obscuration and narrow Lyα emission.

Cid_947 exhibits high obscuration and blueshifted absorption features.

Abstract

We report the discovery of two broad-line X-ray AGNs (cid_414 and cid_947) at z ~ 3 identified in the JWST Cycle 3 COSMOS-3D program using NIRCam F444W grism spectroscopy. Both exhibit prominent HeI+Pa$\gamma$ emission and absorption, indicative of circumnuclear dense gas that is traced in these systems. Complementary UV and optical spectroscopy in the COSMOS field provides Ly$\alpha$, Si IV, and C IV measurements. Both sources are detected in MIRI F1000W, and cid_414 is also detected in F2100W, indicating hot dust emission. The two AGNs show distinct black hole and obscuration properties. The source cid_414 displays little red dots (LRD)-like V-shape spectra energy distribution (SED) shape with a turnover near the Balmer 4000 {\AA} break, and a narrow Ly$\alpha$ line with $\log L_{\rm Ly\alpha}=42.49\pm0.01~\mathrm{erg\ s^{-1}}$, with no additional metal lines detected. In contrast, cid_947 exhibits a higher HeI absorption column density, larger X-ray--inferred $N_{\rm H}$, lower intrinsic 2--10 keV luminosity, and strong blueshifted features in He I, Si IV, and C IV absorption with velocity offsets exceeding $5000~\mathrm{km\ s^{-1}}$. Photoionization modeling implies gas densities of $\sim10^{9-10} \mathrm{cm^{-3}}$ and sizes comparable to the broad-line region, consistent with dense gas envelopes predicted for LRDs. Together with previous detections of HeI absorption in compact little red dots, these results suggest that dense circumnuclear gas is likely prevalent at high redshift and may regulate obscuration and black hole--host co-evolution across AGN types.