JADES – the Rosetta stone of JWST-discovered AGN: deciphering the intriguing nature of early AGN

Ignas Juodžbalis, Xihan Ji, Roberto Maiolino, Francesco D’Eugenio, Jan Scholtz, Guido Risaliti, Andrew C Fabian, Giovanni Mazzolari, Roberto Gilli, Isabella Prandoni, Santiago Arribas, Andrew J Bunker, Stefano Carniani, Stéphane Charlot, Emma Curtis-Lake, Anna de Graaff, Kevin Hainline, Eleonora Parlanti, Michele Perna, Pablo G Pérez-GonzálezBrant Robertson, Sandro Tacchella, Hannah Übler, Christina C Williams, Chris Willott, Joris Witstok

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

JWST has discovered a large population of active galactic nuclei (AGN) at high redshift, which are weak in the X-rays. Here we present the NIRSpec spectrum of the most extreme of these objects, GN-28074, an AGN at z=2.26 with prominent hydrogen and He i broad lines, and with the highest limit on the bolometric to X-ray luminosity ratio among all spectroscopically confirmed AGN in GOODS. This source is also characterized by a mid-IR excess, likely associated with the AGN torus’ hot dust. The high bolometric luminosity and moderate redshift of this AGN allow us to explore its properties more in depth relative to other JWST-discovered AGN. The NIRSpec spectrum reveals prominent, slightly blueshifted absorption of H\alpha, H\beta, and He i \lambda10830. The Balmer absorption lines require gas with densities of n\rm H\0^8~\rm cm^-3, consistent with clouds in the broad-line region (BLR). This finding suggests that part of the X-ray weakness is due to high (Compton-thick) X-ray absorption by clouds in the BLR, or in its outer regions. GN-28074 is also extremely radio-weak. The radio weakness can also be explained in terms of absorption, as the inferred density of the BLR clouds makes them attenuate the radio emission through free–free absorption. Alternatively, the nuclear magnetic field may be underdeveloped, resulting both in intrinsically weak radio emission and lack of hot corona, hence intrinsic X-ray weakness. Finally, we show that recently proposed scenarios, invoking hyper-dense outflows or Raman scattering to explain the broad H\alpha, are ruled out.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)853-873
Number of pages21
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume535
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Oct 2024

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