{
  "abstract": "An intriguing puzzle in extragalactic astronomy is the scarcity of Little Red Dots (LRDs) at $z < 3$, compared to their higher abundance at earlier cosmic epochs. To investigate this, we measure the overdensity for 98 specpically confirmed LRDs at $3<z<7$, and find that these LRDs predominantly reside in under-dense regions at $z > 4$ but shift to more typical galaxy environments at $z \\sim 3.5$. Concurrently, cross-correlation analyses show that their dark matter halo masses grow rapidly, from $\\lesssim 10^{10.1} \\, M_{\\odot}$ at $z \\sim 7.5$ to $\\sim 10^{11.3} \\, M_{\\odot}$ at $z \\sim 3.5$, approaching the halo masses of normal galaxies at lower redshifts. Applying an empirical stellar-to-halo mass scaling relation, we find that LRDs still host over-massive black holes relative to their stellar masses at $z > 4$, yet converge toward the local BH-stellar mass relation at lower redshifts. The coherent evolution of LRDs' large-scale environments and halo masses toward those of normal galaxies provides a plausible explanation for their declining abundance at $z < 3$, even though the underlying small-scale physical mechanisms remain elusive.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": "Journal reference: Nature Astronomy (2026)",
  "arxiv": "2606.02773",
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Chenxuan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Huanian Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Qingwen Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luis C. Ho"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jian-Min Wang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/48vkrkjwn91q9.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2606.02773",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "48vkrkjwn91q9",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.02773",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "astro-ph.GA"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2606.02773",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/48vkrkjwn91q9.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
      "native_id": "2606.02773",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.02773"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "arxiv:astro-ph.GA",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Reduced incidence of little red dots at z < 3 based on number density and halo mass evolution",
  "title_text": "Reduced incidence of little red dots at z < 3 based on number density and halo mass evolution",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:28:36Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/48vkrkjwn91q9",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": [
    {
      "doi": "10.1038/s41550-026-03001-6",
      "pid": null,
      "relation": "published-as",
      "title": null,
      "venue": null
    }
  ]
}