A Black-Hole Envelope Interpretation for Cosmological Demographics of Little Red Dots

TL;DR

This study applies the black-hole envelope model to JWST-detected Little Red Dots, reconciling their spectral features and cosmological demographics with established black hole growth models at high redshift.

Contribution

It reanalyzes LRDs using the BHE model, showing their luminosities and demographics align with known AGN populations, resolving previous inconsistencies.

Findings

Optical-NIR spectra fit blackbody emission at 4000-6000 K.

Revised luminosities are 10-100 times lower than dust-reddened models.

BH mass and luminosity functions now match those of AGNs at z<5.

Abstract

Little red dots (LRDs) newly discovered with JWST are active galactic nuclei (AGN) that may represent black hole (BH) growth at the earliest cosmic epochs. These sources show puzzling features unlike typical AGNs, including red optical continua, weak hot-dust emission, and a lack of detectable X-rays. Previously, LRDs have often been interpreted as dust-reddened AGNs, leading to severe inconsistencies with the luminosity and BH mass densities inferred for previously known AGNs over $0<z<5$. The BH-envelope (BHE) model has been proposed to explain these characteristics, in which an accreting BH is enshrouded by a dense, optically thick gaseous envelope. In this Letter, we reanalyze the SEDs of $\sim 400$ photometric LRDs in the COSMOS-Web survey using the BHE model and reassess their implications for cosmological BH evolution. We find that the optical-NIR spectra of LRDs are well reproduced by blackbody emission with an effective temperatures of $4000-6000~\K$. Within the BHE framework, the inferred bolometric luminosities decrease by $\gtrsim1-2$ orders of magnitude compared to dust-reddened AGN assumptions. As a result, the revised luminosity function, BH accretion density, and BH mass function become consistent with those of AGNs at $z<5$. The stellar masses of LRD hosts are estimated by attributing the UV excesses to star formation. Although the resulting $M_{\rm BH}/M_\star$ ratio remains higher than the local empirical value, the excess is modest. Overall, the BHE model not only resolves the spectral features of LRDs but also brings their statistical properties into agreement with the broader cosmological BH population.