AGN and Starburst Galaxies Seen through Radio Surveys (original) (raw)
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A Radio View of the Sky: the Cosmic History of Star-Forming and AGN Galaxies
2009
We explore the cosmic evolution of radio detected star forming (SF) galaxies and active galactic nuclei (AGN), drawn from the VLA-COSMOS survey, out to z = 1.3. We present the 20 cm radio luminosity function for these populations, and find that SF galaxies evolve much more rapidly than low-power radio AGN. Our results imply that weak radio AGN (L 1.4GHz 5×10 25 W Hz −1) occur in the most massive galaxies already at z ∼ 1. They may significantly contribute to the heating of their surrounding medium and thus inhibit gas accretion onto their host galaxies, as recently suggested for the 'radio mode' AGN feedback in cosmological models.
Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: AGN, starburst galaxies and their cosmic evolution
Radio continuum surveys can detect galaxies over a very wide range in redshift, making them powerful tools for studying the distant universe. Until recently, though, identifying the optical counterparts of faint radio sources and measuring their redshifts was a slow and laborious process which could only be carried out for relatively small samples of galaxies. Combining data from all-sky radio continuum surveys with optical spectra from the new large-area redshift surveys now makes it possible to measure redshifts for tens of thousands of radio-emitting galaxies, as well as determining unambiguously whether the radio emission in each galaxy arises mainly from an active nucleus (AGN) or from processes related to star formation. Here we present some results from a recent study of radio-source populations in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, including a new derivation of the local star-formation density, and discuss the prospects for future studies of galaxy evolution using both radio an...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2013
We analyse the optical spectra of massive (log M * /M > 11.4) radio-loud galaxies at z ∼ 0.2 and z ∼ 0.6. Our samples are generated by cross-matching the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR7 and Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey spectroscopic galaxy catalogues with the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty centimetres and NVSS radio continuum surveys. By comparing stellar population parameters of these radio-loud samples with radio-quiet control samples matched in stellar mass, velocity dispersion and redshift, we investigate how the presence of a radio-emitting jet relates to the recent star formation history of the host galaxy. We also investigate how the emission-line properties of the radio galaxies evolve with redshift by stacking their spectra. Our main results are the following. (1) Both at low and at high redshift, half as many radio-loud as radio-quiet galaxies have experienced significant star formation in the past Gyr. This difference in star formation history is independent of the luminosity of the radio AGN, except at radio luminosities greater than 10 25.5 W Hz −1 , where it disappears. (2) The Balmer absorption-line properties of massive galaxies that have experienced recent star formation show that star formation occurred as a burst in many of these systems. (3) Both the radio and the emission-line luminosity of radio AGN evolve significantly with redshift. The average [O III] rest equivalent width increases by 1 dex from z = 0.2 to z = 0.6, and emission-line ratios change from LINER-like at low redshift to Seyfert-like at high redshift. However, radio galaxies with similar stellar population parameters have similar emission-line properties both at high and at low redshift. These results suggest that massive galaxies experience cyclical episodes of gas accretion, star formation and black hole growth, followed by the production of a radio jet that shuts down further activity. The behaviour of galaxies with log M * /M > 11.4 is the same at z = 0.6 as it is at z = 0.2, except that higher redshift galaxies experience more star formation and black hole growth and produce more luminous radio jets during each accretion cycle.
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 2008
We explore the properties of the submillijansky radio population at 20 cm by applying a newly developed optical color-based method to separate star forming (SF) from AGN galaxies at intermediate redshifts (z 1.3). Although optical rest-frame colors are used, our separation method is shown to be efficient, and not biased against dusty starburst galaxies. This classification method has been calibrated and tested on a local radio selected optical sample. Given accurate multi-band photometry and redshifts, it carries the potential to be generally applicable to any galaxy sample where SF and AGN galaxies are the two dominant populations.
A TALE OF TWO FEEDBACKS: STAR FORMATION IN THE HOST GALAXIES OF RADIO AGNs
The Astrophysical Journal, 2014
Several lines of argument support the existence of a link between activity at the nuclei of galaxies, in the form of an accreting supermassive black hole, and star-formation activity in these galaxies. The exact nature of this link is still under debate. Radio jets have long been argued to be an ideal mechanism that allows AGN to interact with their host galaxy, either by depositing energy in the inter-stellar medium (ISM) and effectively suppressing or even quenching star-formation, or by driving shocks through the ISM, compressing molecular gas, and setting the stage for triggering starformation. In this context, we are using a sample of radio sources in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) field to study the nature of the putative link between AGN activity and star-formation. This is done by means of spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. We use the excellent spectral coverage of the AKARI infrared space telescope together with the rich ancillary data available in the NEP to build SEDs extending from UV to far-IR wavelengths. Through SED fitting we constrain both the AGN and host galaxy components. We find a significant AGN component in our sample of relatively faint radio-sources (<mJy), that increases in power with increasing radio-luminosity. At the highest radio-arXiv:1309.7353v2 [astro-ph.CO]
Radio emission and active galactic nucleus feedback in post-starburst galaxies
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2010
We investigate radio-mode AGN activity among post-starburst galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to determine whether AGN feedback may be responsible for the cessation of star formation. Based on radio morphology and radio loudness from the FIRST and NVSS data, we separate objects with radio activity due to an AGN from ongoing residual star formation. Of 513 SDSS galaxies with strong A-star spectra, 12 objects have 21-cm flux density above 1 mJy. These galaxies do not show optical AGN emission lines. Considering that the lifetime of radio emission is much shorter than the typical timescale of the spectroscopic features of post-starburst galaxies, we conclude that the radio-emitting AGN activity in these objects was triggered after the end of the recent starburst, and thus cannot be an important feedback process to explain the post-starburst phase. The radio luminosities show a positive correlation with total galaxy stellar mass, but not with the mass of recently formed stars. Thus the mechanical power of AGN feedback derived from the radio luminosity is related to old stellar populations dominating the stellar mass, which in turn are related to the masses of central supermassive black holes.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2002
We have cross-matched the 1.4 GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) with the first 210 fields observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), covering an effective area of 325 square degrees (about 20% of the final 2dFGRS area). This yields a set of optical spectra of 912 candidate NVSS counterparts, of which we identify 757 as genuine radio IDs -the largest and most homogeneous set of radio-source spectra ever obtained. The 2dFGRS radio sources span the redshift range z = 0.005 to 0.438, and are a mixture of active galaxies (60%) and star-forming galaxies (40%). About 25% of the 2dFGRS radio sources are spatially resolved by NVSS, and the sample includes three giant radio galaxies with projected linear size greater than 1 Mpc. The high quality of the 2dF spectra means we can usually distinguish unambiguously between AGN and star-forming galaxies. We have made a new determination of the local radio luminosity function at 1.4 GHz for both active and star-forming galaxies, and derive a local star-formation density of 0.022 ± 0.004 M ⊙ yr −1 Mpc −3 (H 0 =50 km s −1 Mpc −1 ).
A Tale of Two Feedbacks: Star Formation in the Host Galaxies of Radio AGN
Astrophysical Journal, 2014
Several lines of argument support the existence of a link between activity at the nuclei of galaxies, in the form of an accreting supermassive black hole, and star formation activity in these galaxies. Radio jets have long been argued to be an ideal mechanism that allows active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to interact with their host galaxies and affect star formation. We use a sample of radio sources in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) field to study the nature of this putative link, by means of spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting. We employ the excellent spectral coverage of the AKARI infrared space telescope and the rich ancillary data available in the NEP to build SEDs extending from UV to far-IR wavelengths. We find a significant AGN component in our sample of relatively faint radio sources (<mJy). A positive correlation is found between the luminosity of the AGN component and that of star formation in the host galaxy, independent of the radio luminosity. In contrast, for narrow redshift and AGN luminosity ranges, we find that increasing radio luminosity leads to a decrease in the specific star formation rate. The most radio-loud AGNs are found to lie on the main sequence of star formation for their respective redshifts. For the first time, we potentially see such a two-sided feedback process in the same sample. We discuss the possible suppression of star formation, but not total quenching, in systems with strong radio jets, that supports the maintenance nature of feedback from radio AGN jets.
The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: the population of nearby radio galaxies at the 1-mJy level
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2002
We use redshift determinations and spectral analysis of galaxies in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey to study the properties of local radio sources with S ≥ 1 mJy. 557 objects (hereafter called the spectroscopic sample) drawn from the FIRST survey, corresponding to 2.3 per cent of the total radio sample, are found in the 2dFGRS catalogue within the area 9 h 48 m ∼ < RA(2000) ∼ < 14 h 32 m and −2.77 • ∼ < dec(2000) ∼ < 2.25 • , down to a magnitude limit b J = 19.45. The excellent quality of 2dF spectra allows us to divide these sources into classes, according to their optical spectra.