A team of astronomers has identified hundreds of compact celestial objects, dubbed "little red dots," using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This discovery was presented at the American Astronomical Society conference in Maryland.
The researchers began with the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey and expanded their analysis to include other surveys, such as the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) and the Next Generation Deep Extragalactic Exploratory Public (NGDEEP) survey.
These little red dots, which are significantly smaller than the Milky Way, are characterized by their reddish hue and unusual light signatures. Dale Kocevski, an astrophysicist at Colby College, noted that these objects predominantly existed when the universe was about one billion years old before they began to diminish.
Kocevski suggested that these objects might represent early stages in the formation of massive galaxies and supermassive black holes. Notably, a subset of the little red dots exhibited signs of hot gases spiraling into a growing black hole, indicating that they could be integral to the evolution of galaxies.
The JWST, capable of detecting faint objects beyond the reach of the Hubble Space Telescope, revealed these dots in December 2022. The light from these distant objects has traveled billions of years, providing insights into the early universe.
Initial observations suggested that these objects might be massive galaxies emitting dust-reddened starlight. However, the rapid formation of such galaxies shortly after the Big Bang raised questions about existing theories of cosmic evolution.
Further analysis of 341 little red dots revealed that they appeared predominantly around 600 million years post-Big Bang and largely vanished by 1.5 billion years ago. Among a smaller group of these dots, 80% displayed evidence of gas accreting into black holes.
Despite this evidence, some astronomers maintain that these objects are massive galaxies. The debate continues, particularly regarding the absence of X-ray emissions typically associated with black holes, which may be obscured by gas.
Kocevski expressed excitement over the ongoing discussions, emphasizing the rarity of encountering a population of objects that remains largely enigmatic.