Little Red Dots with Broad H$β$ Lines Reveal the Black Hole Mass Function at 7<z<9.5

Abstract

We present a systematic search for broad H$β$ emission at $7<z<9.5$ in 21,770 JWST/NIRSpec PRISM spectra drawn from four blank fields and six lensing clusters with photometry spanning 1942 arcmin$^2$. We find a sample of 20 sources with statistically significant broad-H$β$ emission, including 13 new sources. Our entire sample has colors and morphologies consistent with little red dots (LRDs), compared to only 37\% of broad-line emitters at $3.5<z<6$. Interpreting the broad-lines as indicators of Broad-line Active Galactic Nuclei (BLAGN), we infer black hole masses of $4.2\times10^{6}-2.1\times10^{8}$\,$M_{\odot}$. We calculate completeness corrections and construct the black hole mass function at $z\sim8$. The normalization of the black hole mass function rises by $\approx1.0$~dex from $z\sim8-5$, consistent with average black hole growth at $f_{\textrm{Edd}}\approx0.1$. Comparing with cosmological simulations, the $z\sim8$ black hole mass function requires heavy ($10^5$\,$M_{\odot}$) seeds or super-Eddington accretion onto light or intermediate mass seeds to match its normalization. Finally, we infer bolometric luminosities for the sample and construct a bolometric luminosity function. We integrate over this luminosity function to derive a black hole accretion density (BHAD) of $4.8^{+5.8}_{-2.6}\times10^{-7}~M_{\odot}~\textrm{yr}^{-1}~\textrm{Mpc}^{-3}$, showing broad agreement with previous photometric work, but disagreement with previous X-ray models, reinforcing the idea that BLAGN are more common in the early universe than previously expected.