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We present a kinematic analysis based on the large integral field spectroscopy (IFS) dataset of SDSS-IV MaNGA (Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory; ∼10 000 galaxies). We have compiled a diverse sample of 594 unique active galactic nuclei (AGNs), identified through a variety of independent selection techniques, encompassing radio (1.4 GHz) observations, optical emission-line diagnostics (BPT), broad Balmer emission lines, mid-infrared colors, and hard X-ray emission. We investigated how ionized gas kinematics behave in these different AGN populations through stacked radial profiles of the [O III] 5007 emission-line width across each AGN population. We contrasted AGN populations against each other (and non-AGN galaxies) by matching samples by stellar mass, [O III] 5007 luminosity, morphology, and redshift. We find similar kinematics between AGNs selected by BPT diagnostics compared to broad-line-selected AGNs. We also identify a population of non-AGNs with similar radial profiles as AGNs, indicative of the presence of remnant outflows (or fossil outflows) of past AGN activity. We find that purely radio-selected AGNs display enhanced ionized gas line widths across all radii. This suggests that our radio-selection technique is sensitive to a population in which AGN-driven kinematic perturbations have been active for longer durations (potentially due to recurrent activity) than in purely optically selected AGNs. This connection between radio activity and extended ionized gas outflow signatures is consistent with recent evidence that suggests radio emission (expected to be diffuse) originated due to shocks from outflows. We conclude that different selection techniques can trace different AGN populations not only in terms of energetics but also in terms of AGN evolutionary stages. Our results are important in the context of the AGN duty cycle and highlight integral field unit data’s potential to deepen our knowledge of AGNs and galaxy evolution.
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This content will become publicly available on July 2, 2026
Multiwavelength and Environmental Properties of Variability Selected Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei
Abstract We present the multiwavelength and environmental properties of 37 variability-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs), including 30 low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs), using a high cadence time-domain survey (All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae) from a spectroscopic sample of 1218 nearby bright galaxies. We find that high-cadence time-domain surveys uniquely select LLAGNs that do not necessarily satisfy other AGN selection methods, such as X-ray, mid-IR, or BPT methods. In our sample, 3% of them pass the mid-infrared color based AGN selection, 18% pass the X-ray luminosity based AGN selection, and 60% pass the BPT selection. This result is supported by two other LLAGN samples from high-cadence time-domain surveys of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite and Palomar Transient Factory, suggesting that the variability selection method from well-sampled light curves can find AGNs that may not be discovered otherwise. These AGNs can have moderate to small variability amplitudes from the accretion disk, but many of them lack strong corona, emission lines from the central engine, or accretion power to dominate the mid-IR emission. The X-ray spectra of a subsample of bright sources are consistent with a power-law model. Upon inspecting the environments of our sample, we find that LLAGNs are more common in denser environments of galaxy clusters in contrast with the trend established in the literature for luminous AGNs at low redshifts, which is broadly consistent with our analysis result for luminous AGNs limited by a smaller sample size. This contrast in environmental properties between LLAGN and luminous AGNs suggests that LLAGNs may have different trigger mechanisms.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2307802
- PAR ID:
- 10634778
- Publisher / Repository:
- IOP
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 987
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 112
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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