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COMPARING NARROW- AND BROAD-LINE AGNs IN A NEW DIAGNOSTIC DIAGRAM FOR EMISSION-LINE GALAXIES BASED ON WISE DATA
ABSTRACT Using a new color-color diagnostic diagram in the mid-infrared (MIR) built from WISE data, the MIRDD, we compare narrow-emission-line galaxies (NELGs) that exhibit different activity types (star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), i.e., LINERs, Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2...
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Published in: | The Astronomical journal 2015-06, Vol.149 (6), p.1-22 |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | ABSTRACT Using a new color-color diagnostic diagram in the mid-infrared (MIR) built from WISE data, the MIRDD, we compare narrow-emission-line galaxies (NELGs) that exhibit different activity types (star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), i.e., LINERs, Seyfert 2 galaxies (Sy2s), and Transition-type Objects (TOs)), as determined using one standard diagnostic diagram in the optical (BPT-VO), with broad-line AGNs (QSOs and Sy1s) and BL Lac objects at low redshift ( ). We show that the BL Lac objects occupy the same region as the LINERs in the MIRDD, whereas the QSOs and Sy1s occupy an intermediate region between the LINERs and the Sy2s. In the MIRDD these galaxies trace a sequence that can be reproduced by a power law, , where the spectral index, , varies from 0 to −2, which is similar to what is observed in the optical/ultraviolet part of the spectra of AGNs with different luminosities. For the NELGs with different activity types, we perform a stellar-population synthesis analysis, confirming that their specific positions in the MIRD depend on their star formation histories (SFH) and demonstrating that the color is tightly correlated with the level of star formation in their host galaxies. In good agreement with the SFH analysis, a comparison of their MIR colors with the colors yielded by spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies with different activity types shows that the SED of the LINERs is similar to the SEDs of the QSOs and Sy1s, consistent with AGN galaxies with mild star formation, whereas the SEDs of the Sy2s and TOs are consistent with AGN galaxies with strong star formation components. For the BL Lac objects, we show that their blue MIR colors can only be fitted with an SED that has no star formation component, consistent with AGNs in elliptical-type galaxies. From their similarities in MIR colors and SEDs, we infer that, in the nearby universe, the level of star formation activity most probably increases in the host galaxies of emission-line galaxies with different activity types along the sequence BL Lac LINER QSO/Sy1 Sy2 TO SFG. |
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ISSN: | 0004-6256 1538-3881 1538-3881 |
DOI: | 10.1088/0004-6256/149/6/192 |