Role of gas in the evolution of Little Red Dots under realistic conditions

Determine the detailed co-evolution of gas and stars in Little Red Dots under realistic astrophysical conditions, and quantify how the dissipative gas component influences the enhancement of stellar collisions, the onset of core instability, very massive star formation, and the subsequent formation of massive black hole seeds.

Background

The paper analyzes Little Red Dots (LRDs) primarily under a stellar-only interpretation, using relaxation and collision timescales to argue that their extreme densities make runaway stellar collisions and massive black hole formation highly likely. While multiple evolutionary scenarios are explored, the treatment intentionally omits gas physics from the main analysis.

In the conclusions, the authors explicitly note that the role of gas—especially its dissipative effects that could enhance stellar collisions—is not studied in the paper and that the detailed gas–star evolution is unclear under realistic conditions. They reference idealized calculations suggesting gas could further drive instabilities, underscoring the need for realistic modeling of gas–star coupling in LRDs.