Stellar Photometric Structures of the Host Galaxies of Nearby Type 1 Active Galactic Nuclei
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)
- Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)
- Giant Magellan Telescope Corporation, 251 S. Lake Ave., Suite 300, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California at Irvine, 4129 Frederick Reines Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-4575 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Frontier Physics Research Division (FPRD), Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
We present detailed image analysis of rest-frame optical images of 235 low-redshift ( z ≲ 0.35) Type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) observed with the Hubble Space Telescope . The high-resolution images enable us to perform rigorous two-dimensional image modeling to decouple the luminous central point source from the host galaxy, which, when warranted, is further decomposed into its principal structural components (bulge, bar, and disk). In many cases, care must be taken to account for structural complexities such as spiral arms, tidal features, and overlapping or interacting companion galaxies. We employ Fourier modes to characterize the degree of asymmetry of the light distribution of the stars as a quantitative measure of morphological distortion due to interactions or mergers. We examine the dependence of the physical parameters of the host galaxies on the properties of the AGNs, namely, radio-loudness and the width of the broad emission lines. In accordance with previous studies, narrow-line (H β FWHM ≤ 2000 km s{sup −1}) Type 1 AGNs, in contrast to their broad-line (H β FWHM > 2000 km s{sup −1}) counterparts, are preferentially hosted in later-type, lower-luminosity galaxies, which have a higher incidence of pseudo-bulges, are more frequently barred, and are less morphologically disturbed. This suggests that narrow-line Type 1 AGNs experienced a more quiescent evolutionary history driven primarily by internal secular evolution instead of external dynamical perturbations. The fraction of AGN hosts showing merger signatures is larger for more luminous sources. Radio-loud AGNs generally preferentially live in earlier-type (bulge-dominated), more massive hosts, although a minority of them appear to contain a significant disk component. We do not find convincing evidence for enhanced merger signatures in the radio-loud population.
- OSTI ID:
- 22661087
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 232; ISSN 0067-0049; ISSN APJSA2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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