{"schema":"pubphys.bundle/1","record":{"author":{"account_ref":null,"orcid":null},"builds_on":[],"content_schema":"pubphys.content.revision/1","content_sha256":"3485145a8a7d753237a0eaea19a5b63b57659b2d8dba5c3be0aa922f1bc0fd7e","created":"2026-10-03T07:17:55Z","files":[],"origin":{"assisted_by":[],"kind":"seed"},"parents":["5475cf5dc5b1a72283d26dc95dc6e00d7ea4e00096a7c6492e409a1816eeb011"],"salt":"44bc87aa9171b8314a4411fa7221e27b596ae5351a99955f4f8c8e61b48bbf34","schema":"pubphys.record/2","site":"pubphys.com","target":null,"type":"revision"},"content":{"answer_type":"mechanism","assisted_by":[],"external_id":"astro.first-smbh.little-red-dots","kind":"phenomenon","literature_status":"contested","n":"1","parents":[],"plain":"JWST found many tiny, very red objects in the young universe that show signs of a growing black hole but emit almost no X-rays and little hot dust. Whether they are black holes wrapped in dense gas, giant stars, or something else is unknown.","posed_since":"2023","precise":"Little red dots are compact (effective radius $<\\sim 100\\,\\mathrm{pc}$) sources, mostly at $z\\sim 4-9$, with V-shaped spectral energy distributions (blue rest-UV, red rest-optical), broad Balmer emission lines ($\\mathrm{FWHM}\\sim 1-4x10^{8}\\,\\mathrm{cm}/\\mathrm{s}$), strong Balmer breaks and Balmer absorption, weak X-ray and weak hot-dust emission, and number densities of order 100 times those extrapolated from UV-selected quasars. Identify the source of the continuum and of the line widths: an accreting black hole inside a dense, nearly dust-free gas envelope (black hole star), a supermassive star or quasi-star, a compact starburst, or a combination, with a model that reproduces the full spectrum.","problem_ref":null,"references":"","settled_by":"A single physical model that fits the rest-UV to mid-infrared spectra, the Balmer break and absorption, the X-ray weakness and the variability limits of a large spectroscopic sample.","status_note":"2025-2026 spectroscopic studies favor accreting black holes inside dense gas envelopes, while supermassive-star and super-Eddington outflow models are still being proposed in 2026.","title":"What are the compact red sources (little red dots) found by JWST?","topic_ref":"b31645054af13e29c5201707761f4cbb39ef8dced934561a5f80d1a755665bcf"},"content_withheld":"false","files":[],"attested":{"attestation":{"batch":null,"client_id":null,"id_token_sha256":null,"kind":"platform"},"record_hash":"caa7a750203c3d752d05b3a6ff5d92e4d0c768461296fbe5599fad0ba21d2cb2","schema":"pubphys.attested/1"},"id_token":null,"id_token_withheld":"false","envelope":{"attested_hash":"98dcfc8c3ca6a6a690e50380e730ce61d4ae47838b57c78cc6a1534320c3b6fa","platform_signature":{"key_id":"c6afc19b31429869751f06879c75cd64ea92654423d15b44be775bf1310a60da","sig":"2U3l6PO5jyKPh78Ev2SfXC1YlOlIcJjDW1K02imWSgKzef33mUXcfmaqQuCtdNczNMMEWqomHXpMlnm75nZ0DQ"},"schema":"pubphys.envelope/1"},"ots":{"attested":["AE9wZW5UaW1lc3RhbXBzAABQcm9vZgC_ieLohOiSlAEImNz8jDympqaQ5QOA5zDOYdSuR4OLV8eMxqFTQyDDtvrxIJjcxVr7TVSyzdN7LI-Zw59HHXlSuGaVwchF4IO9FbsyCPAgcd1T69ICLHkEB1OHXg4H58tEopR2YNWstsoazkOhqKUI8CAtPAhK06yX3s0Zs_1AA-JiWFUYRzgphItNnDEDUv0oKQjxIJixFFQorjALzM_WQYV2fS--H-hFPy00X-KTf_nfeQMtCPAgf4DPqeybUReuEepjubTnAe3mrqtapM5jJDSgigZPEvsI8CBcp-jbMi6dqWXf-9LeT5FkuhuvY7cMzjUCkl-tH3XqdQjxIBkWgozvKcZhR9ws_evk4_PLDCcwfnJB4PGYN4NcYPEZCPEgWonRrxVXZ5JmJxbwaBYMc9fEelt51sEr9PpPt8WL7GoI8SAzYkfrMCtnlPZF7RCs0vhySIZDq30HHv5Q-Y2E93F_lgjwIIhzmnVeFxVHRiBmi7SsQd_gIBRvsrzzZf-fzyEkp8wnCPAgy6DmLQtIuWm-zrDRmaSy95vcFWsjvWyppQO7wIWrfC4I8SAQuuTPkAGyvS_wKMy9BtKvnki2puESdY2vXem8hT1uIQjwIBGYo5Vxy-d7U5zKv5vp3Ii7hJPH_BDLCzA13c47p9q7CP_wCHbghVgOFMuNCPAQPZK2lHbTMqcCYUotzOQcmQjwIJ7ruRIs6HnufKxCpmLUgeUl0aUu0ov4_3PqcppS-bddCPEgI530vHzdwz_3o9jYQ3WablSaV64Wfn7Pmby5WLyI-A0I8QRqwKw78AhITF7Tr3a1xP8Ag9_jDS75DI4sK2h0dHBzOi8vYm9iLmJ0Yy5jYWxlbmRhci5vcGVudGltZXN0YW1wcy5vcmcI8CBXWeNiWFWltfHE0nkDXsVKIykUUwuObhsnN-2fvBt98gjwIM5Vf7j68sOFgVysYMc5S09Hho-fqxYW3oQ4oKUX7JpPCPAgaKHHQB3sdd9w1hu4NMh7vmb-p0X2r4uyVKKCj1G7S28I8SAW2Mg6Bzi9ygjrrjIYB7w90fwMcxH24SsqLmzPyAMGfwjwIMQ863zlveYIpNKWVrZaDOa4vowwoOg2CcTW8gXtxK3dCPEgrZxGGAf-t8jhz_eLMUyBN1IhNrdYDRcNHWvQcwNG9woI8CCVOUHG1YXudbaFIgUYvrCIevRWvb2ubhQAo-z0duD0rQjxIDBeKerVGkO3J2eXDwdraSioXbIWsdIPEN1s8pIwJIS2CPAgV2kB3n3JZ5HwBQjpRL1CWKnqvdCjZk3RcALk6N2wHigI8CB-wbljNlfqElD25uZkNg6taS81YDRU2vfMqGVQ420O9AjxWQEAAAABJM43UU6MLMRrPlCUqossvu1q_knons5yylyWTgxZzWUAAAAAAP7___8CLgABAAAAAAAWABQrYt3E7OllKRCEmL3FL589l78_5wAAAAAAAAAAImog8ATiyw4ACAjxILmbcIO7ixv3pCtwUMZ1VQGKus54F9lZ8-w5ECD5ZuiICAjwIG6ynCyFTLPE7Rgk-0ZGCtBDyqNQx8YvaSZNHy8D8p8jCAjwIMX8zoD2Be1YWvcx_bexVPRmBX0hK-do8b8t9SarimQVCAjxIG6XtpqIEclLlhzcK1LVjqoPGrjjmLnyno8tcETMzECECAjwIF6mlfXOFY51JhrK4eze8zQlKV75OYZYqbtyi8BWxmAsCAjwIKKUcJmVoz-u-geiRV_-ZHdF0VEPXaEPFWf_JX_0e7G2CAjxIGMeD0Z5QWNKBcAEpHht007FFIILW6aSJ8f3CMkKNsneCAjwIBFr6Je8rkB7kwhPGbq0yRgFwZsvW9JhY5sXDRtrq0QwCAjwIAHAwXaus-yUgKICJB5mVvx8VZuJgjwnpb0qWPg1pi6DCAjxIAJhb8cefkVHTAMymdsxa-_i-tUua62LcpALQnPG7R9_CAjwIDvsFqBhPfAL6TCtXZd7gBWmMpx6iiZ-Ug0Jf_LlcstgCAjwIDJRBX6Q0Vge-ra-k1_g76yJWTEp6WWF13I3JpTnsZPJCAjwILykZCbkC9VQgl5gytPKKir6T9nTvKR6y05iWSHBTQgzCAgABYiWDXPXGQED45c78Ah-sGbmQAwfZwjwEAYqxtHnZiPZnJEGPx_JvKsI8SDXkqDg17YsZIrEz5acRx7mBXCKW5mKNgRYnw_-U2cpDgjxBGrArDrwCEfK6Mono428_wCD3-MNLvkMji4taHR0cHM6Ly9hbGljZS5idGMuY2FsZW5kYXIub3BlbnRpbWVzdGFtcHMub3JnCPAg10nyJ6Jn4kshQQQCKE0Lvj3hBC6nLRBVIzaPV4eh8VwI8CCQaAqWlxEbac_XOq1MOlf9iOKHEsxXspzbjK0vLpy8BwjwII3iRbRXUcDxrhAdkZmFlI15nySCSEZ7g922tF1Xln5DCPEgYYvZ1L4v4rPu_UqLfcHPtwSb2OH2GhPgVcVhhH6DpkQI8CDZCIoR20sC-uchP40oAmcLm9EJFV7xzwplj54AeVadXQjxILvLBjPFpCoz29m9Yf2qRnV7PI9GqxE8ozVQfk9QwCqrCPEgZXcMudvEoB_MJ8tqOW2PLTKAIeQBnE-1bfzptRc2gR8I8VkBAAAAAfXq-bmxWqOz7B5wKkwjzHGv2R4s7Y0Z76LqXWYNhmz0AAAAAAD-____Av0cAAAAAAAAFgAUl-skmdZDtn7Hnub6mF4HP2uVn7oAAAAAAAAAACJqIPAE4MsOAAgI8CBDmQsbEXc46Hu8DivhCBM1LGExa4TTM-wo7HpoCVjBTQgI8CCty5vkQtPHzzs8xqArOYhVSjgaDoG1ou3cojv5_P7wQQgI8SDQWB0kdXCTwbk-TqTt0QfRMyzDNLOtU1XXFgvGSRlW8wgI8CC2PKa_QCIBZtrXodq1GdEzppISMsMRDOnzr2gFjLKOAAgI8CCwQ_QF67bcFk_uJ2s0VCZmf5PGIjTmTCpt_qnVY5p_8AgI8SAbzyx7z-oxPMju6PvtQhzrJIQyH2ZAc9oyLuYemzbmZQgI8CC5bh7J74uUk91r8LwybHQFCNBC3PWeuwtMCCNFKWj19AgI8SAf4R2TUNPjaX_PWDUImpoITK0JoW89zaMKnD1wlEEi8AgI8SC2vNmdm7eyP5Ytl1yTzT0njliMdALl1ViKG-s3bG2zswgI8CCpbIVNz1GFVXdJk2zd82hBUoNFFemUPBt7IJdWEOciPwgI8CBtYdRQcrtX1FtCm1SxF7sx-5cO04U8KzbJh8fqBkyReAgI8CBHs2LGmX6gI-lV7yp1RrV7_tGfdiBAwnEFF6B6yXHzAQgI8CATotVmbXBMAixhZ-QKy5Q4lR0FusdA_wcIC1TbB7GmxAgIAAWIlg1z1xkBA-KXOw"],"envelope":["AE9wZW5UaW1lc3RhbXBzAABQcm9vZgC_ieLohOiSlAEI1nVx3btmv6EOnPTOfCiLirSr7CXsmhoCV0g-eatqw6vwINZ9yvdXodCFh36piceTUj8dRcqkjvEBYJoyrqIjGB8SCPAg6-vqo9szE5yxn4SByNlDgoFPGX1etqQsI5yJVhjx2XcI8SDm09259eNP9LLUg6mJJ18jLswCd4npl9Fdz0DQmOww3AjwIDl9bDmN_tAcCeuMBJFqzA4qpVgEOuuMPVPg6ABp3QvzCPAgeiSRBiD--8l4f1Ju5jQHxrHjj_j4AhlRQT-s3jrfIcgI8SBgGNyCCe7fneNHZYRnLtMmZubs2ZqE324uZJhHU18E5AjxIKisLLidrc4SayDttFWU91CK6Y9jXXvkqUwRG8TFKZFnCPEgrtdg06P_PiGLrXxo5MKrwKoHRBN3RJolGSIc0ZD_7wsI8SDw6LQ-RfhPE_v83K9oKkOzbHhdxc-f1_76FJQHtj9gCwjwIG_qk_muz-jg8UolhZs34aKKg3vvCTOQfEn-hyT2gbIDCPEgUZCxxJx-baWw4JFRfzCCtSjPn4ATBx_3FQi1O2Yo4-8I8SAQuuTPkAGyvS_wKMy9BtKvnki2puESdY2vXem8hT1uIQjwIBGYo5Vxy-d7U5zKv5vp3Ii7hJPH_BDLCzA13c47p9q7CP_wCHbghVgOFMuNCPAQPZK2lHbTMqcCYUotzOQcmQjwIJ7ruRIs6HnufKxCpmLUgeUl0aUu0ov4_3PqcppS-bddCPEgI530vHzdwz_3o9jYQ3WablSaV64Wfn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