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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Banerjee, Amrita, Pandey, Biswajit, Nandi, Anindita
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.12943
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author Banerjee, Amrita
Pandey, Biswajit
Nandi, Anindita
author_facet Banerjee, Amrita
Pandey, Biswajit
Nandi, Anindita
contents We analyze a volume-limited sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to compare the spatial clustering and physical properties of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxies (SFG) at fixed stellar mass. We find no statistically significant difference in clustering strength or local density between AGN and SFG. However, after matching their stellar mass distributions, we detect statistically significant differences (at a confidence level $>99.99\%$) in colour, star formation rate (SFR), $4000Å$ break measurements (D$4000$), and morphology. These differences persist across both low- and high-density environments, suggesting that AGN are not driven by environmental factors. The development of favourable conditions for AGN activity within a galaxy may depend on the diverse evolutionary histories of galaxies. Our results imply that AGN activity may arise stochastically, modulated by the complex assembly history of galaxies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_12943
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Clustering and physical properties of AGN and Star-Forming Galaxies at fixed stellar mass: does assembly bias have a role in AGN activity?
Banerjee, Amrita
Pandey, Biswajit
Nandi, Anindita
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
We analyze a volume-limited sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to compare the spatial clustering and physical properties of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxies (SFG) at fixed stellar mass. We find no statistically significant difference in clustering strength or local density between AGN and SFG. However, after matching their stellar mass distributions, we detect statistically significant differences (at a confidence level $>99.99\%$) in colour, star formation rate (SFR), $4000Å$ break measurements (D$4000$), and morphology. These differences persist across both low- and high-density environments, suggesting that AGN are not driven by environmental factors. The development of favourable conditions for AGN activity within a galaxy may depend on the diverse evolutionary histories of galaxies. Our results imply that AGN activity may arise stochastically, modulated by the complex assembly history of galaxies.
title Clustering and physical properties of AGN and Star-Forming Galaxies at fixed stellar mass: does assembly bias have a role in AGN activity?
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.12943