Large scale clustering measurements with photometric redshifts: comparing the dark matter halos of X-ray AGN, star-forming and passive galaxies at z~1

Abstract

We combine multiwavelength data in the AEGIS-XD and C-COSMOS surveys to measure the typical dark matter halo mass of X-ray selected AGN [Lx(2-10keV)>1e42 erg/s] in comparison with far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies detected in the Herschel/PEP survey (PACS Evolutionary Probe; Lir>1e11 solar) and quiescent systems at z~1. We develop a novel method to measure the clustering of extragalactic populations that uses photometric redshift Probability Distribution Functions in addition to any spectroscopy. This is advantageous in that all sources in the sample are used in the clustering analysis, not just the subset with secure spectroscopy. The method works best for large samples. The loss of accuracy because of the lack of spectroscopy is balanced by increasing the number of sources used to measure the clustering. We find that X-ray AGN, far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies and passive systems in the redshift interval 0.6<z<1.4 are found in halos of similar mass, $\log M_{DMH}/(M_{\odot }{h}^{-1})\approx 13.0$. We argue that this is because the galaxies in all three samples (AGN, star-forming, passive) have similar stellar mass distributions, approximated by the J-band luminosity. Therefore all galaxies that can potentially host X-ray AGN, because they have stellar masses in the appropriate range, live in dark matter haloes of $\log M_{DMH}/(M_{\odot }{h}^{-1})\approx 13.0$ independent of their star-formation rates. This suggests that the stellar mass of X-ray AGN hosts is driving the observed clustering properties of this population. We also speculate that trends between AGN properties (e.g. luminosity, level of obscuration) and large scale environment may be related to differences in the stellar mass of the host galaxies.

to appear in MNRAS

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• Cosmic X-ray Surveys of Distant Active Galaxies: The Demographics, Physics, and Ecology of Growing Supermassive Black Holes
• Clustering of quasars in SDSS-IV eBOSS : study of potential systematics and bias determination
• Evident black hole-bulge coevolution in the distant universe
• The AGN-galaxy-halo connection: The distribution of AGN host halo masses to z=2.5
• An ALMA survey of the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy SurveyUKIDSS/UDS Field: Halo Masses for Submillimetre Galaxies
• The Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey: Clustering of X-ray selected AGN at 2.9<z<5.5 using photometric redshift Probability Distribution Functions
• Testing the evolutionary pathways of galaxies and their supermassive black holes and the impact of feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei via large multiwavelength datasets
• Estimating Photometric Redshifts for X-ray sources in the X-ATLAS field, using machine-learning techniques
• The Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey: clustering dependence of Type 2 AGN on host galaxy properties
• The role of scatter and satellites in shaping the large-scale clustering of X-ray AGN as a function of host galaxy stellar mass
• Large-scale environments of star-forming active galactic nuclei: How black hole mass, accretion rate, and luminosity connect to dark matter halos
• Black hole mass, host galaxy mass, and dark matter halos: Testing the environmental connection