Comparing infrared and X-ray-selected active galactic nuclei host galaxy star formation rates to the galaxy main sequence
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT A key method of exploring the relationship between active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and their host galaxies is to determine the astrophysical properties of galaxies that host AGNs, and compare them to those that do not.tar formation rates are believed to be strongly related to nuclear activity, both indirectly via their common fuel supply, and directly via the energy injected by the AGNs either suppressing or enhancing star formation. Strong observational evidence of a direct link between nuclear activity and in situ star formation has proven elusive, likely in part due to the very different time-scales of nuclear activity and episodes of star formation. To overcome these challenges, some studies have demonstrated that evidence of the aforementioned link may be found in the distributions of AGN power and star formation rates. While previous attempts to determine these distributions have largely focused on X-ray-selected samples of AGNs, in this study we also attempt to determine the star formation rate distributions of infrared-selected AGNs. The results vary between our samples, but at low redshift ($0.8~\lt ~z~\lt ~1.2$) we find that more powerful X-ray-selected AGNs are more likely to occur in galaxies with higher specific star formation rates, consistent with previous studies. At higher redshifts ($1.0~\lt ~z~\lt ~1.8$), this trend is reversed with higher power AGNs tending to occur in galaxies with lower specific star formation rates. In contrast, infrared-selected galaxies at $1.0~\lt ~z~\lt ~1.8$ show no evidence of a changing star formation rate distribution with AGN power.
Institution: University of Sheffield
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,046
OpenAlex ID: W7222928808