The Astrophysical Journal Letters (Jan 2023)
CEERS Key Paper. VI. JWST/MIRI Uncovers a Large Population of Obscured AGN at High Redshifts
- G. Yang,
- K. I. Caputi,
- C. Papovich,
- P. Arrabal Haro,
- M. B. Bagley,
- P. Behroozi,
- E. F. Bell,
- L. Bisigello,
- V. Buat,
- D. Burgarella,
- Y. Cheng,
- N. J. Cleri,
- R. Davé,
- M. Dickinson,
- D. Elbaz,
- H. C. Ferguson,
- S. L. Finkelstein,
- N. A. Grogin,
- N. P. Hathi,
- M. Hirschmann,
- B. W. Holwerda,
- M. Huertas-Company,
- T. A. Hutchison,
- E. Iani,
- J. S. Kartaltepe,
- A. Kirkpatrick,
- D. D. Kocevski,
- A. M. Koekemoer,
- V. Kokorev,
- R. L. Larson,
- R. A. Lucas,
- P. G. Pérez-González,
- P. Rinaldi,
- L. Shen,
- J. R. Trump,
- A. de la Vega,
- L. Y. A. Yung,
- J. A. Zavala
Affiliations
- G. Yang
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research , Postbus 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
- K. I. Caputi
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ; [email protected]; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Copenhagen, Denmark
- C. Papovich
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- P. Arrabal Haro
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- M. B. Bagley
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- P. Behroozi
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Division of Science, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- E. F. Bell
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , 1085 S. University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107, USA
- L. Bisigello
- ORCiD
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G.Galilei,” Universitá di Padova , Via Marzolo 8, I-35131 Padova, Italy; INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova , Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova, Italy
- V. Buat
- ORCiD
- Aix Marseille Univ , CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
- D. Burgarella
- ORCiD
- Aix Marseille Univ , CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
- Y. Cheng
- ORCiD
- University of Massachusetts Amherst , 710 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01003-9305, USA
- N. J. Cleri
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- R. Davé
- ORCiD
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh , Blackford Hill, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of the Western Cape , Robert Sobukwe Road, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa
- M. Dickinson
- ORCiD
- NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , 950 N. Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
- D. Elbaz
- ORCiD
- Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité , CEA, CNRS, AIM, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- H. C. Ferguson
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD, USA
- S. L. Finkelstein
- ORCiD
- Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, TX, USA
- N. A. Grogin
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- N. P. Hathi
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD, USA
- M. Hirschmann
- ORCiD
- Institute of Physics , Laboratory of Galaxy Evolution, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
- B. W. Holwerda
- ORCiD
- Physics & Astronomy Department, University of Louisville , Louisville, KY 40292, USA
- M. Huertas-Company
- ORCiD
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias , La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Universidad de la Laguna , La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Université Paris-Cité , LERMA—Observatoire de Paris, PSL, Paris, France
- T. A. Hutchison
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- E. Iani
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ; [email protected]
- J. S. Kartaltepe
- ORCiD
- Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, School of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology , 84 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
- A. Kirkpatrick
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas , Lawrence, KS 66045, USA
- D. D. Kocevski
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Colby College, Waterville, ME 04901, USA
- A. M. Koekemoer
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- V. Kokorev
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ; [email protected]
- R. L. Larson
- ORCiD
- The University of Texas at Austin , Department of Astronomy, Austin, TX, USA
- R. A. Lucas
- ORCiD
- Space Telescope Science Institute , 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- P. G. Pérez-González
- ORCiD
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) , CSIC-INTA, Ctra. de Ajalvir km 4, Torrejón de Ardoz, E-28850 Madrid, Spain
- P. Rinaldi
- ORCiD
- Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen , P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands ; [email protected]
- L. Shen
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA; George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University , College Station, TX 77843-4242, USA
- J. R. Trump
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics, 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, University of Connecticut , Storrs, CT 06269, USA
- A. de la Vega
- ORCiD
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California , 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521, USA
- L. Y. A. Yung
- ORCiD
- Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
- J. A. Zavala
- ORCiD
- National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, Japan
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd639
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 950,
no. 1
p. L5
Abstract
Mid-infrared (mid-IR) observations are powerful in identifying heavily obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) that have weak emission in other wavelengths. Data from the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on board the James Webb Space Telescope provides an excellent opportunity to perform such studies. We take advantage of the MIRI imaging data from the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science Survey to investigate the AGN population in the distant universe. We estimate the source properties of MIRI-selected objects by utilizing spectral energy distribution (SED) modeling, and classify them into star-forming galaxies (SFs), SF-AGN mixed objects, and AGN. The source numbers of these types are 433, 102, and 25, respectively, from four MIRI pointings covering ∼9 arcmin ^2 . The sample spans a redshift range of ≈0–5. We derive the median SEDs for all three source types, respectively, and publicly release them. The median MIRI SED of AGN is similar to the typical SEDs of hot dust-obscured galaxies and Seyfert 2s, for which the mid-IR SEDs are dominated by emission from AGN-heated hot dust. Based on our SED-fit results, we estimate the black hole accretion density (BHAD; i.e., total BH growth rate per comoving volume) as a function of redshift. At z 3, we identify a total of 27 AGN and SF-AGN mixed objects, leading to that our high- z BHAD is substantially higher than the X-ray results (∼0.5 dex at z ≈ 3–5). This difference indicates MIRI can identify a large population of heavily obscured AGN missed by X-ray surveys at high redshifts.
Keywords
