Investigating the growth of little red dot descendants at z strictly less than 4 with the JWST

Vol. 705
4. Extragalactic astronomy

Investigating the growth of little red dot descendants at z<4 with the JWST

One of the "surprises" offered by JWST observations is the discovery of a new type of high redshift (z~6) galaxies termed little red dots (LRDs). They are massive, dense systems that represent an early evolutionary stage in which star formation, dust, and AGN activity produce these intriguing objects with a characteristic V-shaped spectral energy distribution. This paper focuses on potential descendants of LRDs at "lower redshift" (z<~4), exploring the spatial extent of post-LRD candidates from JWST/CEERS. The work involves SED fitting and morphological analysis of a carefully selected sample and suggests an evolutionary scenario requiring growth in the external regions of LRDs. The authors propose three possible channels, as depicted in Fig. 13, with a preference for growth through cold accretion or diffuse inflow.