Dartmouth Events

Abstract: One of the most intriguing discoveries that JWST has made is a population of anomalous, high-z sources referred to as "Little Red Dots (LRDs)." The physical nature of LRDs is still generally unknown. Their compact morphologies and the frequent presence of broad lines in their spectra suggest that their emission is dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGN) processes. However, their non-detection in deep X-ray fields challenges this picture given our typical understanding of AGN accretion. Their characteristic V-shaped spectral energy distributions (SEDs) are consistent with a myriad of models that treat LRDs as either extreme, compact starbursts with dust geometries that allow for the leakage of some rest-UV emission, or  as obscured AGN with reflected UV emission from the accretion disk and/or that resides in an unobscured galaxy. In this talk, I will address many of the observational challenges that hinder attempts at characterizing the physical nature of LRDs. I will present work that highlights the need for caution in interpreting results from LRD morphological analyses. Lastly, I will discuss how photometrically LRDs may represent a diverse population of objects, as well as future directions on how to best describe the physical processes responsible for driving LRD-like phenomena.

Hosted by: Professor Ryan Hickox, Dartmouth

Zoom Link: https://dartmouth.zoom.us/j/93069806358?