Cosmic Cocoons: MEOW's Infrared Hunt Reveals the Secret Growth of Black Holes
Original: "The MIRI Early Obscured-AGN Wide Survey (MEOW): A Population of Hidden AGN at $$z \gtrsim 5$$ Revealed by JWST/MIRI Imaging"
The MEOW survey on JWST/MIRI uncovered 16 ancient dust-hidden active nuclei and showed that invisible black holes in the early Universe are as numerous as bright quasars.
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The young Universe is a battlefield: supermassive black holes grow at incredible rates, yet most are hidden from us. The MEOW infrared survey found that 'invisible' active nuclei are as numerous as bright quasars. They are wrapped in dust cocoons, like caterpillars before metamorphosis. These shadowy giants may explain how black holes gained billions of solar masses within the first billion years. We are accustomed to looking at the light—but perhaps the main story is hidden in darkness.
🎯 The name MEOW is an acronym evoking a cat's meow; the authors likened their hunt for hidden black holes to a cat's curiosity and night vision.
V_{\rm eff}(L_{\rm bol}) = \int \frac{dV}{dz} C(L_{\rm bol}, z) dz
Integral of comoving volume in which we can detect a black hole, accounting for the fact that with increasing distance only the brightest objects are visible.