Despite the importance of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in galaxy evolution, accurate AGN identification is often challenging, as common AGN diagnostics can be confused by contributions from star formation and other effects (e.g., Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich diagrams). However, one promising avenue for identifying AGNs is “coronal emission lines” (“CLs”), which are highly ionized species of gas with ionization potentials ≥100 eV. These CLs may serve as excellent signatures for the strong ionizing continuum of AGNs. To determine if CLs are in fact strong AGN tracers, we assemble and analyze the largest catalog of optical CL galaxies using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) catalog. We detect CL emission in 71 MaNGA galaxies, out of the 10,010 unique galaxies from the final MaNGA catalog, with ≥5
Local low-metallicity dwarf galaxies are relics of the early universe and are thought to hold clues into the origins of supermassive black holes. While recent studies are uncovering a growing population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in dwarf galaxies, the vast majority reside in galaxies with solar or supersolar metallicities and stellar masses comparable to that of the LMC. Using Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) and Very Large Telescope observations, we report the detection of [Fe
- Award ID(s):
- 1817233
- PAR ID:
- 10502626
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters
- Volume:
- 946
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2041-8205
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- L38
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
Abstract σ confidence. In our sample, we measure [Nev ]λ 3347,λ 3427, [Fevii ]λ 3586,λ 3760,λ 6086, and [Fex ]λ 6374 emission and crossmatch the CL galaxies with a catalog of AGNs that were confirmed with broad-line, X-ray, IR, and radio observations. We find that [Nev ] emission, compared to [Fevii ] and [Fex ] emission, is best at identifying high-luminosity AGNs. Moreover, we find that the CL galaxies with the least dust extinction yield the most iron CL detections. We posit that the bulk of the iron CLs are destroyed by dust grains in the galaxies with the highest [Oiii ] luminosities in our sample, and that AGNs in the galaxies with low [Oiii ] luminosities are possibly too weak to be detected using traditional techniques. -
Abstract We present the discovery of a luminous X-ray active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the dwarf galaxy merger RGG 66. The black hole is predicted to have a mass of
M BH∼ 105.4M ⊙and to be radiating close to its Eddington limit (L bol/L Edd∼ 0.75). The AGN in RGG 66 is notable both for its presence in a late-stage dwarf–dwarf merger and for its luminosity ofL 2–10 keV= 1042.2erg s−1, which is among the most powerful AGNs known in nearby dwarf galaxies. The X-ray spectrum has a best-fit photon index of Γ = 2.4 and an intrinsic absorption ofN H ∼ 1021cm−2. These results come from a follow-up Chandra X-ray Observatory study of four irregular/disturbed dwarf galaxies with evidence for hosting AGNs based on optical spectroscopy. The remaining three dwarf galaxies do not have detectable X-ray sources with upper limits ofL 2–10 keV≲ 1040erg s−1. Taken at face value, our results on RGG 66 suggest that mergers may trigger the most luminous of AGNs in the dwarf galaxy regime, just as they are suspected to do in more massive galaxy mergers. -
Abstract To facilitate new studies of galaxy-merger-driven fueling of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we present a catalog of 387 AGNs that we have identified in the final population of over 10,000
z < 0.15 galaxies observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV (SDSS-IV) integral field spectroscopy survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA). We selected the AGNs via mid-infrared Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors, Swift/Burst Alert Telescope ultra-hard X-ray detections, NRAO Very Large Array Sky Survey and Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimeters radio observations, and broad emission lines in SDSS spectra. By combining the MaNGA AGN catalog with a new SDSS catalog of galaxy mergers that were identified based on a suite of hydrodynamical simulations of merging galaxies, we study the link between galaxy mergers and nuclear activity for AGNs above a limiting bolometric luminosity of 1044.4erg s−1. We find an excess of AGNs in mergers, relative to nonmergers, for galaxies with stellar mass ∼1011M ⊙, where the AGN excess is somewhat stronger in major mergers than in minor mergers. Further, when we combine minor and major mergers and sort by merger stage, we find that the highest AGN excess occurs in post-coalescence mergers in the highest-mass galaxies. However, we find no evidence of a correlation between galaxy mergers and AGN luminosity or accretion rate. In summary, while galaxy mergers overall do appear to trigger or enhance AGN activity more than nonmergers, they do not seem to induce higher levels of accretion or higher luminosities. We provide the MaNGA AGN Catalog and the MaNGA Galaxy Merger Catalog for the community here. -
Abstract We present measurements of black hole masses and Eddington ratios (
λ Edd) for a sample of 38 bright (M 1450< −24.4 mag) quasars at 5.8 ≲z ≲ 7.5, derived from Very Large Telescope/X–shooter near–IR spectroscopy of their broad Civ and Mgii emission lines. The black hole masses (on average,M BH∼ 4.6 × 109M ⊙) and accretion rates (0.1 ≲λ Edd≲ 1.0) are broadly consistent with that of similarly luminous 0.3 ≲z ≲ 2.3 quasars, but there is evidence for a mild increase in the Eddington ratio abovez ≳ 6. Combined with deep Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the [CII ] 158μ m line from the host galaxies and VLT/MUSE investigations of the extended Lyα halos, this study provides fundamental clues to models of the formation and growth of the first massive galaxies and black holes. Compared to local scaling relations,z ≳ 5.7 black holes appear to be over-massive relative to their hosts, with accretion properties that do not change with host galaxy morphologies. Assuming that the kinematics of theT ∼ 104K gas, traced by the extended Lyα halos, are dominated by the gravitational potential of the dark matter halo, we observe a similar relation between black hole mass and circular velocity as reported forz ∼ 0 galaxies. These results paint a picture where the first supermassive black holes reside in massive halos atz ≳ 6 and lead the first stages of galaxy formation by rapidly growing in mass with a duty cycle of order unity. The duty cycle needs to drastically drop toward lower redshifts, while the host galaxies continue forming stars at a rate of hundreds of solar masses per year, sustained by the large reservoirs of cool gas surrounding them. -
Abstract We carried out spectroscopic monitoring of 21 low-redshift Seyfert 1 galaxies using the Kast double spectrograph on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory from 2016 April to 2017 May. Targeting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with luminosities of
λ L λ (5100 Å) ≈ 1044erg s−1and predicted Hβ lags of ∼20–30 days or black hole masses of 107–108.5M ⊙, our campaign probes luminosity-dependent trends in broad-line region (BLR) structure and dynamics as well as to improve calibrations for single-epoch estimates of quasar black hole masses. Here we present the first results from the campaign, including Hβ emission-line light curves, integrated Hβ lag times (8–30 days) measured againstV -band continuum light curves, velocity-resolved reverberation lags, line widths of the broad Hβ components, and virial black hole mass estimates (107.1–108.1M ⊙). Our results add significantly to the number of existing velocity-resolved lag measurements and reveal a diversity of BLR gas kinematics at moderately high AGN luminosities. AGN continuum luminosity appears not to be correlated with the type of kinematics that its BLR gas may exhibit. Follow-up direct modeling of this data set will elucidate the detailed kinematics and provide robust dynamical black hole masses for several objects in this sample.