NO CLEAR SUBMILLIMETER SIGNATURE OF SUPPRESSED STAR FORMATION AMONG X-RAY LUMINOUS ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Journal Article · Tue Nov 20 00:00:00 EST 2012 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/760/1/L15· OSTI ID:22078418

Harrison, C M; Alexander, D M; Mullaney, J R; Del Moro, A; Rovilos, E ^[1]; Altieri, B; Coia, D ^[2]; Charmandaris, V ^[3]; Daddi, E; Le Floc'h, E; Leiton, R ^[4]; Dannerbauer, H ^[5]; Dasyra, K ^[6]; Dickinson, M; Kartaltepe, J ^[7]; Hickox, R C ^[8]; Ivison, R J ^[9]; Magnelli, B; Popesso, P; Rosario, D ^[10] ; others, and

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1. Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom)
2. Herschel Science Centre, European Space Astronomy Centre, Villanueva de la Canada, E-28691 Madrid (Spain)
3. Department of Physics and Institute of Theoretical and Computation Physics, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion (Greece)
4. Laboratoire AIM, CEA/DSM-CNRS-Universite Paris Diderot, Irfu/Service d Astrophysique, CEA-Saclay, Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)
5. Insitut fuer Astrophysik, Universitaet Wien, Tuerkenschanzstrasse 17, A-1180 Wien (Austria)
6. Observatoire de Paris, LERMA (CNRS:UMR8112), 61 Av. de l'Observatoire, F-75014 Paris (France)
7. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
8. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States)
9. UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom)
10. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Extraterrestrische Physik (MPE), Postfach 1312, D-85741 Garching (Germany)

Many theoretical models require powerful active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to suppress star formation in distant galaxies and reproduce the observed properties of today's massive galaxies. A recent study based on Herschel-SPIRE submillimeter observations claimed to provide direct support for this picture, reporting a significant decrease in the mean star formation rates (SFRs) of the most luminous AGNs (L{sub X} >10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}) at z Almost-Equal-To 1-3 in the Chandra Deep Field-North (CDF-N). In this Letter, we extend these results using Herschel-SPIRE 250 {mu}m data in the COSMOS and Chandra Deep Field-South fields to achieve an order-of-magnitude improvement in the number of sources at L{sub X} >10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1}. On the basis of our analysis, we find no strong evidence for suppressed star formation in L{sub X} >10{sup 44} erg s{sup -1} AGNs at z Almost-Equal-To 1-3. The mean SFRs of the AGNs are constant over the broad X-ray luminosity range of L{sub X} Almost-Equal-To 10{sup 43}-10{sup 45} erg s{sup -1} (with mean SFRs consistent with typical star-forming galaxies at z Almost-Equal-To 2; (SFRs) Almost-Equal-To 100-200 M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}). We suggest that the previous CDF-N results were likely due to low number statistics. We discuss our results in the context of current theoretical models.

• OSTI ID: 22078418
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 760, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
LUMINOSITY
STARS
X RADIATION