A Census of Active Galactic Nuclei Identified by the Mid-infrared [Ne v] Line at $\boldsymbol{z \leq 0.025}$
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866910051707387904 |
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| author | Yassir, S. Annuar, A. |
| author_facet | Yassir, S. Annuar, A. |
| contents | We present a census of local active galactic nuclei (AGN) at a redshift of $z\leq0.025$ selected using the high-ionization [Ne v] $\lambda14.32\,μ$m emission line from the Infrared Database of Extragalactic Observables from Spitzer (IDEOS). We identify 103 sources with detected [Ne v] emission, which we regard as AGN within the volume. This sample represents $\sim18\%$ of the galaxy population within this redshift range, consistent with AGN fractions derived using other selection techniques. We investigate the biases and properties of this [Ne v]-selected AGN sample by comparing it with traditional AGN selection methods based on hard X-ray, optical, and mid-infrared colors. We find that our selection significantly misses AGN with underdeveloped narrow line regions (NLRs), which account for approximately half of the AGN identified by NLR-independent methods. However, approximately $\sim10\%$ of our sample are undetected in optical diagnostics, while $\sim40\%$ are missed by hard X-rays and $\sim70\%$ by infrared continuum. Notably, $\sim15\%$ of our AGN are missed by all classical methods, constituting a population of previously unidentified AGN revealed solely by the [Ne v] emission line. Based on our analysis, we show that this line can efficiently select heavily Compton-thick and host-dominated AGN systems. Our analysis also yields mean bolometric luminosities of $\log(L_{\rm bol}/{\rm erg~s^{-1}})=44.5\pm0.7$, black hole masses of $\log(M_{\rm BH}/M_{\odot})=7.3\pm0.6$, and Eddington ratio of $λ_{\rm Edd}=0.15\pm0.11$. Our sample harbors AGN with comparable luminosities but systematically lower-mass black holes accreting at higher Eddington ratios than those in the hard X-ray-selected sample. This suggests that our AGN may represent local analogs of the rapidly growing SMBH population prevalent at cosmic noon. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_12804 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Census of Active Galactic Nuclei Identified by the Mid-infrared [Ne v] Line at $\boldsymbol{z \leq 0.025}$ Yassir, S. Annuar, A. Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena We present a census of local active galactic nuclei (AGN) at a redshift of $z\leq0.025$ selected using the high-ionization [Ne v] $\lambda14.32\,μ$m emission line from the Infrared Database of Extragalactic Observables from Spitzer (IDEOS). We identify 103 sources with detected [Ne v] emission, which we regard as AGN within the volume. This sample represents $\sim18\%$ of the galaxy population within this redshift range, consistent with AGN fractions derived using other selection techniques. We investigate the biases and properties of this [Ne v]-selected AGN sample by comparing it with traditional AGN selection methods based on hard X-ray, optical, and mid-infrared colors. We find that our selection significantly misses AGN with underdeveloped narrow line regions (NLRs), which account for approximately half of the AGN identified by NLR-independent methods. However, approximately $\sim10\%$ of our sample are undetected in optical diagnostics, while $\sim40\%$ are missed by hard X-rays and $\sim70\%$ by infrared continuum. Notably, $\sim15\%$ of our AGN are missed by all classical methods, constituting a population of previously unidentified AGN revealed solely by the [Ne v] emission line. Based on our analysis, we show that this line can efficiently select heavily Compton-thick and host-dominated AGN systems. Our analysis also yields mean bolometric luminosities of $\log(L_{\rm bol}/{\rm erg~s^{-1}})=44.5\pm0.7$, black hole masses of $\log(M_{\rm BH}/M_{\odot})=7.3\pm0.6$, and Eddington ratio of $λ_{\rm Edd}=0.15\pm0.11$. Our sample harbors AGN with comparable luminosities but systematically lower-mass black holes accreting at higher Eddington ratios than those in the hard X-ray-selected sample. This suggests that our AGN may represent local analogs of the rapidly growing SMBH population prevalent at cosmic noon. |
| title | A Census of Active Galactic Nuclei Identified by the Mid-infrared [Ne v] Line at $\boldsymbol{z \leq 0.025}$ |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12804 |