Settling the Dust: Obscured AGN in Galaxy Evolution

Dust-obscured AGN are thought to represent a critical, short-lived “blow-out” phase in
galaxy evolution, during which feedback from the central black hole clears away the
surrounding gas and dust. This phase is central to models linking black hole growth and
galaxy evolution, yet it remains poorly constrained due to the challenges of identifying
and characterising obscured systems.

Over the past decade, various populations of dusty or reddened AGN have been
characterised, such as Red Quasars, Extremely Red Quasars (ERQs), Hot
Dust-Obscured Galaxies (HotDOGs), and the newly discovered “Little Red Dots”
(LRDs). These samples have been selected at different wavelengths and luminosities,
with often small and heterogeneous samples limiting our ability to determine whether
these populations trace the same underlying phase of galaxy evolution.

This workshop will make the key step needed to reconcile these approaches and piece
together the role of obscured black hole growth in galaxy evolution. We will gather
observational experts probing different reddened AGN populations as well as theorists
modelling dust physics, black hole growth, AGN feedback and its impact on galaxy
evolution. We will build new collaborations to define the future observations that are
needed to reconcile dusty AGN populations (e.g., JWST, ALMA, ELT, SKA), and to
establish how future generations of theoretical models should address dust physics and
its link to AGN feedback.