Irony at z=6.68: a bright AGN with forbidden Fe emission and multi-component Balmer absorption

Understand

We present the deepest medium-resolution JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy to date of a bright Little Red Dot (LRD) AGN, Irony at z=6.68.

• The data reveal broad Balmer emission from H$\alpha$-H$\delta$ and Balmer absorption in H$\alpha$-H$\epsilon$.
• The absorption lines are kinematically split: H$\alpha$ is blueshifted while higher-order lines are redshifted suggesting complex gas kinematics; their relative ratios are inconsistent with a single, passive absorbing screen.
• The line depths require absorption of both the BLR and the continuum, ruling out a stellar origin, consistent with the smooth Balmer break.