The co-evolution of strong AGN and central galaxies in different environments

Author(s)

Sampaio, V. M. ; Aragon-Salamanca, A. ; Merrifield, M. R. ; de Carvalho, R. R. ; Zhou, S. ; Ferreras, I

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society; v. 524, n. 4, p. 13-pg., 2023-07-29.

Abstract

We exploit a sample of 80 000 Sloan Digital Sky Survey central galaxies to investigate the effect of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback on their evolution. We trace the demographics of optically selected AGN (Seyferts) as a function of their internal properties and environment. We find that the preeminence of AGN as the dominant ionizing mechanism increases with stellar mass, overtaking star formation for galaxies with M-stellar >= 10(10) M-circle dot. The AGN fraction changes systematically with the galaxies' star formation activity. Within the blue cloud, this fraction increases as star formation activity declines, reaching a maximum near the green valley (similar to 17 +/- 4 per cent ), followed by a decrease as the galaxies transition into the red sequence. This systematic trend provides evidence that AGN feedback plays a key role in regulating and suppressing star formation. In general, Seyfert central galaxies achieve an early-type morphology while they still host residual star formation. This suggests that, in all environments, the morphology of Se yfert galaxies evolv es from late-to early-type before their star formation is fully quenched. Stellar mass plays an important role in this morphological transformation: while low-mass systems tend to emerge from the green valley with an elliptical morphology (T-Type similar to -2.5 +/- 0.7), their high-mass counterparts maintain a spiral morphology deeper into the red sequence. In high-stellar mass centrals, the fraction of Seyferts increases from early-to late-type galaxies, indicating that AGN feedback may be linked with the morphology and its transformation. Our analysis further suggests that AGN are fuelled by their own host halo gas reserv oir, b ut when in group centrals can also increase their gas reservoir via interactions with satellite galaxies. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/13683-5 - The interplay between internal and environmental quenching mechanisms in central galaxies evolution
• Grantee: Vitor Medeiros Sampaio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 20/16243-3 - Investigating environmental effects in galaxy evolution: from cosmological simulations to observations
• Grantee: Vitor Medeiros Sampaio
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 20/15245-2 - The multi-object spectrograph (MOSAIC) for the extremely large telescope: spectroscopy of stellar populations in the milky way and external galaxies
• Grantee: Beatriz Leonor Silveira Barbuy
• Support Opportunities: Special Projects