The Relation Between AGN and Host Galaxy Properties in the JWST Era: II. The merger-driven evolution of Seyferts at Cosmic Noon
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866912646836518912 |
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| author | Bonaventura, Nina Lyu, Jianwei Rieke, George H. Bunker, Andrew J. Willott, Chris J. Willmer, Christopher N. A. |
| author_facet | Bonaventura, Nina Lyu, Jianwei Rieke, George H. Bunker, Andrew J. Willott, Chris J. Willmer, Christopher N. A. |
| contents | In Paper I, we exploited the unsurpassed resolution and depth of JWST/NIRCam imagery to investigate the relationship between AGN and host-galaxy properties in the JWST era, finding a correlation between the level of spatial disturbance (as measured by shape asymmetry, $A_S$) and obscuration ($N_H$). Here in Paper II, we report an expansion of our X-ray and infrared analysis of Seyfert-luminosity host galaxies with four additional metrics to the single-metric morphology analysis of Paper I, as well as new samples of inactive control galaxies. This expanded study of one of the largest and most complete, multi-wavelength samples of AGN detected at $0.6<z<2.4$ in the GOODS-South and North fields, confirms that mergers surprisingly play a significant role in obscured, sub-quasar AGN host galaxies. Additionally, the pattern of morphological disturbances observed amongst the X-ray- and mid-IR-selected AGN suggests that these represent different phases of AGN evolution tied to a major-merger timeline, as opposed to distinct populations of AGN. These results indicate that mergers are important in triggering sub-quasar AGN at these redshifts. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_11010 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Relation Between AGN and Host Galaxy Properties in the JWST Era: II. The merger-driven evolution of Seyferts at Cosmic Noon Bonaventura, Nina Lyu, Jianwei Rieke, George H. Bunker, Andrew J. Willott, Chris J. Willmer, Christopher N. A. Astrophysics of Galaxies In Paper I, we exploited the unsurpassed resolution and depth of JWST/NIRCam imagery to investigate the relationship between AGN and host-galaxy properties in the JWST era, finding a correlation between the level of spatial disturbance (as measured by shape asymmetry, $A_S$) and obscuration ($N_H$). Here in Paper II, we report an expansion of our X-ray and infrared analysis of Seyfert-luminosity host galaxies with four additional metrics to the single-metric morphology analysis of Paper I, as well as new samples of inactive control galaxies. This expanded study of one of the largest and most complete, multi-wavelength samples of AGN detected at $0.6<z<2.4$ in the GOODS-South and North fields, confirms that mergers surprisingly play a significant role in obscured, sub-quasar AGN host galaxies. Additionally, the pattern of morphological disturbances observed amongst the X-ray- and mid-IR-selected AGN suggests that these represent different phases of AGN evolution tied to a major-merger timeline, as opposed to distinct populations of AGN. These results indicate that mergers are important in triggering sub-quasar AGN at these redshifts. |
| title | The Relation Between AGN and Host Galaxy Properties in the JWST Era: II. The merger-driven evolution of Seyferts at Cosmic Noon |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11010 |