A Rare Eddington-Limited, Heavily Obscured Low-Mass Active Galactic Nucleus Likely Triggered by a Galaxy Merger
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| Natura: | Preprint |
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2026
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| author | Wang, Shouyi Zou, Fan Chen, Chang-Hao Brandt, W. N. Gallo, Elena Luo, Bin Wu, Xue-Bing Fu, Yuming Nguyen, Dieu D. Sun, Shengxiu |
| author_facet | Wang, Shouyi Zou, Fan Chen, Chang-Hao Brandt, W. N. Gallo, Elena Luo, Bin Wu, Xue-Bing Fu, Yuming Nguyen, Dieu D. Sun, Shengxiu |
| contents | We report a detailed analysis of GAMA 376183, a powerful, heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) hosted by a low-mass galaxy ($M_\star \approx 10^{10}~M_{\odot}$) likely experiencing a galaxy merger. The source was initially identified due to its remarkably strong [Ne v] $\lambda3426$ emission, exhibiting a rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of $\approx 48$ A. We present $\sim100$ ks Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array follow-up observations, confirming its heavily obscured nature with a column density (in $\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$) of $\log N_\mathrm{H} = 23.3^{+0.4}_{-1.2}$ and an intrinsic $2$--$10$ keV luminosity (in $\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$) of $\log L_\mathrm{X,int} = 42.92^{+0.24}_{-0.20}$. GAMA 376183 thus represents one of the few known heavily obscured AGNs in low-mass galaxies. Its estimated Eddington ratio is $λ_\mathrm{Edd}\approx0.8$, indicative of rapid black-hole growth. High-resolution optical images reveal a disturbed, likely merging morphology, while its multiwavelength spectral energy distribution indicates a recent starburst in its host galaxy. These pieces of evidence suggest that the ongoing merger has triggered both the heavily obscured, Eddington-limited accretion and the starburst, making GAMA 376183 a rare observed case in low-mass galaxies. Overall, this unique source demonstrates that (i) [Ne v] can help identify heavily obscured low-mass AGNs, and (ii) the merger-driven coevolution framework established for massive galaxies may also extend to low-mass galaxies. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_26743 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Rare Eddington-Limited, Heavily Obscured Low-Mass Active Galactic Nucleus Likely Triggered by a Galaxy Merger Wang, Shouyi Zou, Fan Chen, Chang-Hao Brandt, W. N. Gallo, Elena Luo, Bin Wu, Xue-Bing Fu, Yuming Nguyen, Dieu D. Sun, Shengxiu Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena We report a detailed analysis of GAMA 376183, a powerful, heavily obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) hosted by a low-mass galaxy ($M_\star \approx 10^{10}~M_{\odot}$) likely experiencing a galaxy merger. The source was initially identified due to its remarkably strong [Ne v] $\lambda3426$ emission, exhibiting a rest-frame equivalent width (EW) of $\approx 48$ A. We present $\sim100$ ks Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array follow-up observations, confirming its heavily obscured nature with a column density (in $\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$) of $\log N_\mathrm{H} = 23.3^{+0.4}_{-1.2}$ and an intrinsic $2$--$10$ keV luminosity (in $\mathrm{erg~s^{-1}}$) of $\log L_\mathrm{X,int} = 42.92^{+0.24}_{-0.20}$. GAMA 376183 thus represents one of the few known heavily obscured AGNs in low-mass galaxies. Its estimated Eddington ratio is $λ_\mathrm{Edd}\approx0.8$, indicative of rapid black-hole growth. High-resolution optical images reveal a disturbed, likely merging morphology, while its multiwavelength spectral energy distribution indicates a recent starburst in its host galaxy. These pieces of evidence suggest that the ongoing merger has triggered both the heavily obscured, Eddington-limited accretion and the starburst, making GAMA 376183 a rare observed case in low-mass galaxies. Overall, this unique source demonstrates that (i) [Ne v] can help identify heavily obscured low-mass AGNs, and (ii) the merger-driven coevolution framework established for massive galaxies may also extend to low-mass galaxies. |
| title | A Rare Eddington-Limited, Heavily Obscured Low-Mass Active Galactic Nucleus Likely Triggered by a Galaxy Merger |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.26743 |