JWST UNCOVER: Extremely red and compact object at$z_{\mathrm{phot}}\simeq 7.6$ triply imaged by Abell 2744

Abstract

Recent JWST/NIRCam imaging taken for the ultra-deep UNCOVER program reveals a very red dropout object at $z_{\mathrm{phot}}\simeq 7.6$, triply imaged by the galaxy cluster Abell 2744 ($z_{\mathrm{d}}=0.308$). All three images are very compact, i.e. unresolved, with a de-lensed size upper-limit of $r_e\lesssim 35$ pc. The images have apparent magnitudes of $m_{F444W}\sim 25-26$ AB, and the magnification-corrected absolute UV magnitude of the source is $M_{\mathrm{UV},1450}=-16.81\pm 0.09$. From the sum of observed fluxes and from a spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis, we obtain estimates of the bolometric luminosities of the source of $L_{\mathrm{bol}}\gtrsim 10^{43}\frac{\mathrm{erg}}{\mathrm{s}}$ and $L_{\mathrm{bol}}\sim 10^{44}-10^{46}\frac{\mathrm{erg}}{\mathrm{s}}$, respectively. Based on its compact, point-like appearance, its position in color-color space and the SED analysis, we tentatively conclude that this object is a UV-faint dust-obscured quasar-like object, i.e. an active galactic nucleus (AGN) at high redshift. We also discuss other alternative origins for the object's emission features, including a massive star cluster, Population III, supermassive, or dark stars, or a direct-collapse black hole. Although populations of red galaxies at similar photometric redshifts have been detected with JWST, this object is unique in that its high-redshift nature is corroborated geometrically by lensing, that it is unresolved despite being magnified -- and thus intrinsically even more compact -- and that it occupies notably distinct regions in both size-luminosity and color-color space. Planned UNCOVER JWST/NIRSpec observations, scheduled in Cycle 1, will enable a more detailed analysis of this object.

Accepted for publication in ApJ. Considerable updates to the SED-fitting section, including the discussion of a heavily dust-obscured type 1 AGN as the most likely scenario

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