GLIMPSED: Direct evidence for a fast active galactic nucleus-driven outflow from a z=6.64 little red dot host galaxy
astro-ph.GA
Submitted: 2026-04-09
Updated: 2026-09-23
Comments: 17 pages, Accepted in A&A
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: We report the discovery of GLIMPSED-329380, a z=6.64 galaxy behind Abell S1063, which shows signs of an extreme ionised outflow driven by an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
Terminology
Abstract
We report the discovery of GLIMPSED-329380, a z=6.64 galaxy behind Abell S1063, which shows signs of an extreme ionised outflow driven by an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The deep JWST/NIRSpec medium grating observations show spatially resolved structures of a host galaxy containing the very fast outflow and an AGN, which we analyse separately. The outflow, mainly traced by broad [O III]λ5008 and Hα emissions in the host, reaches a full-width-at-half-maximum velocity of 5350km/s, velocities only observed in AGN-dominated systems. From the Balmer decrement, we observe that while the narrow emission lines show no dust attenuation, the outflowing gas is dusty. We use emission lines diagnostics to infer gas abundances within the host galaxy. The oxygen abundance is 12+log(O/H) 7.96 (18% solar) and the host is slightly nitrogen-enriched with log(N/O) -0.68. Unless the extreme outflow turns out to be very dusty, the mass loading factor (>5-10%), and the kinetic energy (>1e43erg/s) of the extreme outflow does not hint at a significant impact on the galaxy. The AGN component shows many similarities with little red dots (LRDs): a characteristic 'V shape', exponential profile in hydrogen lines, numerous detection of forbidden [Fe II] lines, a Balmer break, and a broad absorption feature at 4550Å. This detection of a fast outflow in an LRD, rare in surveys dominated by low-resolution (e.g. PRISM) spectra, provides direct evidence of AGN activity in these systems.
Sources
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- Irony at z=6.68: a bright AGN with forbidden Fe emission and multi-component Balmer absorption
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- Discovery of Multiply Ionized Iron Emission Powered by an Active Galactic Nucleus in a z~7 Little Red Dot
- Extremely UV-bright starbursts at the end of cosmic reionization
- Discovery of new N-emitters over a wide redshift range
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- Stratification of the AGN-Driven multi-phase outflows in the dwarf Seyfert galaxy NGC 4395
- Little Red Dots: One Photometric Tag Concealing Diverse Spectroscopic Flavors of Massive Star Formation and Black Hole Activity
- GA-NIFS: high prevalence of dusty and metal-enriched outflows in massive and luminous star-forming galaxies at $z\sim3-9$
- The AURORA Survey: High-Redshift Empirical Metallicity Calibrations from Electron Temperature Measurements at z=2-10
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- Little Red Dot $-$ Host Galaxy $=$ Black Hole Star: A Gas-Enshrouded Heart at the Center of Every Little Red Dot
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