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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Galaxy zoo DESI
T2 - large-scale bars as a secular mechanism for triggering AGN
AU - Garland, Izzy L
AU - Walmsley, Mike
AU - Silcock, Maddie S
AU - Potts, Leah M
AU - Smith, Josh
AU - Simmons, Brooke D
AU - Lintott, Chris J
AU - Smethurst, Rebecca J
AU - Dawson, James M
AU - Keel, William C
AU - Kruk, Sandor
AU - Mantha, Kameswara Bharadwaj
AU - Masters, Karen L
AU - O’Ryan, David
AU - Popp, Jürgen J
AU - Thorne, Matthew R
PY - 2024/8/31
Y1 - 2024/8/31
N2 - Despite the evidence that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) co-evolve with their host galaxy, and that most of the growth of these SMBHs occurs via merger-free processes, the underlying mechanisms which drive this secular co-evolution are poorly understood. We investigate the role that both strong and weak large-scale galactic bars play in mediating this relationship. Using 72,940 disc galaxies in a volume-limited sample from Galaxy Zoo DESI, we analyse the active galactic nucleus (AGN) fraction in strongly barred, weakly barred, and unbarred galaxies up to z = 0.1 over a range of stellar masses and colours. After controlling for stellar mass and colour, we find that the optically selected AGN fraction is 31.6 ± 0.9 per cent in strongly barred galaxies, 23.3 ± 0.8 per cent in weakly barred galaxies, and 14.2 ± 0.6 per cent in unbarred disc galaxies. These are highly statistically robust results, strengthening the tantalising results in earlier works. Strongly barred galaxies have a higher fraction of AGNs than weakly barred galaxies, which in turn have a higher fraction than unbarred galaxies. Thus, while bars are not required in order to grow a SMBH in a disc galaxy, large-scale galactic bars appear to facilitate AGN fuelling, and the presence of a strong bar makes a disc galaxy more than twice as likely to host an AGN than an unbarred galaxy at all galaxy stellar masses and colours.
AB - Despite the evidence that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) co-evolve with their host galaxy, and that most of the growth of these SMBHs occurs via merger-free processes, the underlying mechanisms which drive this secular co-evolution are poorly understood. We investigate the role that both strong and weak large-scale galactic bars play in mediating this relationship. Using 72,940 disc galaxies in a volume-limited sample from Galaxy Zoo DESI, we analyse the active galactic nucleus (AGN) fraction in strongly barred, weakly barred, and unbarred galaxies up to z = 0.1 over a range of stellar masses and colours. After controlling for stellar mass and colour, we find that the optically selected AGN fraction is 31.6 ± 0.9 per cent in strongly barred galaxies, 23.3 ± 0.8 per cent in weakly barred galaxies, and 14.2 ± 0.6 per cent in unbarred disc galaxies. These are highly statistically robust results, strengthening the tantalising results in earlier works. Strongly barred galaxies have a higher fraction of AGNs than weakly barred galaxies, which in turn have a higher fraction than unbarred galaxies. Thus, while bars are not required in order to grow a SMBH in a disc galaxy, large-scale galactic bars appear to facilitate AGN fuelling, and the presence of a strong bar makes a disc galaxy more than twice as likely to host an AGN than an unbarred galaxy at all galaxy stellar masses and colours.
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/stae1620
DO - 10.1093/mnras/stae1620
M3 - Journal article
VL - 532
SP - 2320
EP - 2330
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
SN - 0035-8711
IS - 2
ER -