Are Compton-Thick AGN the Missing Link Between Mergers and Black Hole Growth?

Abstract

We examine the host morphologies of heavily obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) at $z\sim 1$ to test whether obscured supermassive black hole growth at this epoch is preferentially linked to galaxy mergers. Our sample consists of 154 obscured AGN with $N_{\mathrm{H}}>10^{23.5}$ cm${}^{-2}$ and $z<1.5$. Using visual classifications, we compare the morphologies of these AGN to control samples of moderately obscured ($10^{22}$ cm${}^{-2}$ $<N_{\mathrm{H}}<10^{23.5}$ cm${}^{-2}$) and unobscured ($N_{\mathrm{H}}<10^{22}$ cm${}^{-2}$) AGN. These control AGN are matched in redshift and intrinsic X-ray luminosity to our heavily obscured AGN. We find that heavily obscured AGN at z~1 are twice as likely to be hosted by late-type galaxies relative to unobscured AGN ($65.3_{-4.6}^{+4.1}\%$ vs $34.5_{-2.7}^{+2.9}\%$) and three times as likely to exhibit merger or interaction signatures ($21.5_{-3.3}^{+4.2}\%$ vs $7.8_{-1.3}^{+1.9}\%$). The increased merger fraction is significant at the 3.8$\sigma$ level. We also find that the incidence of point-like morphologies is inversely proportional to obscuration. If we exclude all point sources and consider only extended hosts, we find the correlation between merger fraction and obscuration is still evident, however at a reduced statistical significance ($2.5\sigma$). The fact that we observe a different disk/spheroid fraction versus obscuration indicates that viewing angle cannot be the only thing differentiating our three AGN samples, as a simple unification model would suggest. The increased fraction of disturbed morphologies with obscuration supports an evolutionary scenario, in which Compton-thick AGN are a distinct phase of obscured SMBH growth following a merger/interaction event. Our findings also suggest that some of the merger-triggered SMBH growth predicted by recent AGN fueling models may be hidden among the heavily obscured, Compton-thick population.

Accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (30)

• The UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS)
• A Cosmological Framework for the Co-Evolution of Quasars, Supermassive Black Holes, and Elliptical Galaxies: I. Galaxy Mergers & Quasar Activity
• The synthesis of the cosmic X-ray background in the Chandra and XMM-Newton era
• The All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) Data Sets
• The Chandra COSMOS Survey, I: Overview and Point Source Catalog
• The bulk of the black hole growth since z~1 occurs in a secular universe: No major merger-AGN connection
• X-ray spectral properties of AGN in the Chandra Deep Field South
• Multiwavelength study of massive galaxies at z~2. II. Widespread Compton thick AGN and the concurrent growth of black holes and bulges
• Obscuration-dependent evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Multiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile (MUSYC): Deep Medium-Band optical imaging and high quality 32-band photometric redshifts in the ECDF-S
• Evidence for Quasar Activity Triggered by Galaxy Mergers in HST Observations of Dust-reddened Quasars
• Galaxy pairs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - IX: Merger-induced AGN activity as traced by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
• Unveiling obscured accretion in the Chandra Deep Field South
• Spitzer's Contribution to the AGN Population
• The evolution of the near-IR galaxy Luminosity Function and colour bimodality up to z ~ 2 from the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Early Data Release
• Merging and Clustering of the Swift BAT AGN Sample
• HST WFC3/IR Observations of Active Galactic Nucleus Host Galaxies at z~2: Supermassive Black Holes Grow in Disk Galaxies
• A Theoretical Interpretation of the Black Hole Fundamental Plane
• Quasars Are Not Light-Bulbs: Testing Models of Quasar Lifetimes with the Observed Eddington Ratio Distribution
• AEGIS-X: Deep Chandra imaging of the Central Groth Strip
• Evidence for Merger Remnants in Early-Type Host Galaxies of Low-Redshift QSOs
• AEGIS: Host Galaxy Morphologies of X-ray and Infrared-selected AGN at 0.2 < z < 1.2
• Widespread and Hidden Active Galactic Nuclei in Star-Forming Galaxies at Redshift > 0.3
• Compton thick active galactic nuclei in Chandra surveys
• Near Infrared Adaptive Optics Imaging of QSO Host Galaxies
• Compton Thick AGN in the XMM-COSMOS survey
• Spitzer Observations of Young Red Quasars
• NuSTAR unveils a Compton-thick Type 2 quasar in Mrk 34
• NuSTAR Reveals Extreme Absorption in z < 0.5 Type 2 Quasars
• The host galaxies of X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei to z=2.5: Structure, star-formation and their relationships from CANDELS and Herschel/PACS

Cited by in corpus (117)

• Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei
• The close environments of accreting massive black holes are shaped by radiative feedback
• The Quest for Dual and Binary Supermassive Black Holes: A Multi-Messenger View
• Galaxy Interactions Trigger Rapid Black Hole Growth: an unprecedented view from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey
• A definitive merger-AGN connection at z~0 with CFIS: mergers have an excess of AGN and AGN hosts are more frequently disturbed
• The power of infrared AGN selection in mergers: a theoretical study
• Host galaxies of luminous z$\sim$0.6 quasars: Major mergers are not prevalent at the highest AGN luminosities
• A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers
• Incidence of WISE-Selected Obscured AGNs in Major Mergers and Interactions from the SDSS
• The most-luminous heavily-obscured quasars have a high merger fraction: morphological study of WISE-selected hot dust-obscured galaxies
• Mergers Do Trigger AGNs out to z $\sim$ 0.6
• X-ray spectral analyses of AGNs from the 7Ms Chandra Deep Field-South survey: the distribution, variability, and evolution of AGN's obscuration
• Galaxy gas as obscurer: II. Separating the galaxy-scale and nuclear obscurers of Active Galactic Nuclei
• The star formation rates of active galactic nuclei host galaxies
• Black-Hole Growth is Mainly Linked to Host-Galaxy Stellar Mass rather than Star Formation Rate
• X-UDS: The Chandra Legacy Survey of the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey Field
• A hard X-ray view of Luminous and Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxies in GOALS: I - AGN obscuration along the merger sequence
• Buried AGNs in Advanced Mergers:Mid-infrared color selection as a dual AGN finder
• Mid-infrared luminous quasars in the GOODS-Herschel fields: a large population of heavily-obscured, Compton-thick quasars at z~2
• Evidence for Merger-Driven Growth in Luminous, High-z, Obscured AGN in the CANDELS/COSMOS Field
• Looking at cosmic near-infrared background radiation anisotropies
• Cosmological simulations of black hole growth II: how (in)significant are merger events for fuelling nuclear activity?
• Infrared Selection of Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei in the COSMOS Field
• CON-quest: Searching for the most obscured galaxy nuclei
• The Swift/BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey -- IX. The Clustering Environments of an Unbiased Sample of Local AGN
• Comprehensive Broadband X-ray and Multiwavelength Study of Active Galactic Nuclei in Local 57 Ultra/luminous Infrared Galaxies Observed with NuSTAR and/or Swift/BAT
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): Active Galactic Nuclei in Pairs of Galaxies
• The Sizes of Quasar Host Galaxies with the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program
• BASS XXXVII: The role of radiative feedback in the growth and obscuration properties of nearby supermassive black holes
• Crossing the Line: Active Galactic Nuclei in the Star-forming region of the BPT Diagram
• Tracing Black Hole and Galaxy Co-evolution in the Romulus Simulations
• The Chandra Deep Fields: Lifting the Veil on Distant Active Galactic Nuclei and X-Ray Emitting Galaxies
• CEERS Key Paper III: The Resolved Host Properties of AGN at 3 < z < 5 with JWST
• The NuSTAR Serendipitous Survey: Hunting for The Most Extreme Obscured AGN at >10 keV
• The redshift evolution of major merger triggering of luminous AGN: a slight enhancement at z$\sim$2
• Investigating the Effect of Galaxy Interactions on AGN Enhancement at $0.5<z<3.0$
• C-GOALS II. Chandra Observations of the Lower Luminosity Sample of Nearby Luminous Infrared Galaxies in GOALS
• Buried Black Hole Growth in IR-selected Mergers: New Results from Chandra
• The fraction of AGN in major merger galaxies and its luminosity dependence
• A Triple AGN in a Mid-Infrared Selected Late Stage Galaxy Merger
• Interacting galaxies in the IllustrisTNG simulations -- IV: Enhanced Supermassive Black Hole Accretion Rates in Post-Merger Galaxies
• Infrared Spectral Energy Distribution and Variability of Active Galactic Nuclei: Clues to the Structure of Circumnuclear Material
• Piercing Through Highly Obscured and Compton-thick AGNs in the Chandra Deep Fields: I. X-ray Spectral and Long-term Variability Analyses
• Discovery of a dual active galactic nucleus with ~ 8 kpc separation
• A Catalog of 220 Offset and Dual AGNs: Increased AGN Activation in Major Mergers and Separations under 4 kpc
• Type 2 AGN host galaxies in the Chandra-COSMOS Legacy Survey: No Evidence of AGN-driven Quenching
• The Molecular Gas in the NGC 6240 Merging Galaxy System at the Highest Spatial Resolution
• Properties and Evolution of Dual and Offset AGN in the ASTRID Simulation at $z\sim 2$
• Testing the Evolutionary Link between Type 1 and Type 2 Quasars with Measurements of the Interstellar Medium
• Discovery of a dual AGN at z~3.3 with 20kpc separation
• AGN Selection Methods Have Profound Impacts on the Distributions of Host Galaxy Properties
• The role of the most luminous, obscured AGN in galaxy assembly at z~2
• North Ecliptic Pole merging galaxy catalogue
• Disclosing the properties of low-redshift dual AGN through XMM-Newton and SDSS spectroscopy
• The Role of Major Mergers and Nuclear Star Formation in Nearby Obscured Quasars
• ALMA resolves the remarkable molecular jet and rotating wind in the extremely radio-quiet galaxy NGC 1377
• Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei triggered in compact star-forming galaxies
• BASS XXVIII: Near-infrared Data Release 2, High-Ionization and Broad Lines in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Hard X-Ray to Radio Multiwavelength SED Analysis of Local U/LIRGs in GOALS Sample with Self-consistent AGN Model Including Polar-dust Component
• Do AGN triggering mechanisms vary with radio power? II. The importance of mergers as a function of radio power and optical luminosity
• The X-ray View of Merger-Induced AGN Activity at Low Redshift
• The AGN-galaxy-halo connection: The distribution of AGN host halo masses to z=2.5
• AGN on the move: A search for off-nuclear AGN from recoiling SMBHs and ongoing galaxy mergers with the Zwicky Transient Facility
• The cosmic web of X-ray active galactic nuclei seen through the eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS)
• The host galaxies of FeLoBAL quasars at z$\sim$0.9 are not dominated by recent major mergers
• The Past and Future of Mid-Infrared Studies of AGN
• Differences in Halo-Scale Environments between Type 1 and Type 2 AGNs at Low Redshift
• Active Galactic Nuclei as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope
• Spatially Offset Active Galactic Nuclei. II: Triggering in Galaxy Mergers
• A Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Survey of Low-Redshift Swift-BAT Active Galaxies
• Active Galactic Nucleus Pairs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. III. Chandra X-ray Observations Unveil Obscured Double Nuclei
• AGN Triality of Triple Mergers: Detection of Faint X-ray Point Sources
• Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav
• The X-ray view of optically selected dual AGN
• X-ray absorption in INTEGRAL AGN: Host galaxy inclination
• Hosts and triggers of AGNs in the Local Universe
• The bulge-disk decomposition of AGN host galaxies
• The interconnection between galaxy mergers, AGN activity and rapid quenching of star formation in simulated post-merger galaxies
• A long hard-X-ray look at the dual active galactic nuclei of M51 with NuSTAR
• Young stellar populations in type II quasars: timing the onset of star formation and nuclear activity
• The Hunt for Red Quasars: Luminous Obscured Black Hole Growth Unveiled in the Stripe 82 X-ray Survey
• Chandra X-ray and Hubble Space Telescope Imaging of Optically Selected Kiloparsec-Scale Binary Active Galactic Nuclei II: Host Galaxy Morphology and AGN Activity
• Comparing the host galaxy ages of X-ray selected AGN in COSMOS: Obscured AGN are associated with older galaxies
• A Triple AGN in the NGC 7733-7734 Merging Group
• The Accretion History of AGN: A Newly Defined Population of Cold Quasars
• Dust and Power: Unravelling the merger - active galactic nucleus connection in the second half of cosmic history
• BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey-XXIII. A New Mid-Infrared Diagnostic for Absorption in Active Galactic Nuclei
• The Connection between Mergers and AGN Activity in Simulated and Observed Massive Galaxies
• Cosmological simulations of quasar fueling to sub-parsec scales using Lagrangian hyper-refinement
• A High Fraction of Heavily X-ray Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei
• Merging cold front and AGN feedback in the peculiar galaxy cluster Abell 2626
• On the slow quenching of M* galaxies: heavily-obscured AGNs clarify the picture
• The clustering of X-ray AGN at 0.5 < z < 4.5: host galaxies dictate dark matter halo mass
• Piercing through Highly Obscured and Compton-thick AGNs in the Chandra Deep Fields. II. Are Highly Obscured AGNs the Missing Link in the Merger-Triggered AGN-Galaxy Coevolution Models?
• Supermassive black hole fueling in IllustrisTNG: Impact of environment
• A Multi-wavelength Study of the Dual Nuclei in Mrk 212
• The MURALES survey. I. A dual AGN in the radio galaxy 3C459?
• The Complex Gaseous and Stellar environments of the nearby dual AGN Mrk 739
• An overdensity of red galaxies around the hyperluminous dust-obscured quasar W1835$+$4355 at $z=2.3$
• Obscured AGN enhancement in galaxy pairs at cosmic noon: evidence from a probabilistic treatment of photometric redshifts
• Where Do Obscured AGN Fit in A Galaxy's Timeline?
• Investigating the evolution of the dual AGN system ESO~509-IG066
• AGN Triality of Triple Mergers: Multi-wavelength Classifications
• Multi-wavelength Selected Compton-thick AGNs in Chandra Deep Field-South Survey
• A Morphological Study on Galaxies Hosting Optical Variability-Selected AGNs in the COSMOS Field
• Warm absorbers: supermassive black hole feeding, and Compton-thick AGN
• Multi-wavelength observations of the triple-peaked AGN Mrk 622
• Black hole-galaxy co-evolution and the role of feedback
• A post-merger enhancement only in star-forming Type 2 Seyfert galaxies: the deep learning view
• Multiwavelength Analysis of a Nearby Heavily Obscured AGN in NGC 449
• Lower-Luminosity Obscured AGN Host Galaxies are Not Predominantly in Major-Merging Systems at Cosmic Noon
• The Nature of LoBAL QSOs: II. HST/WFC3 Observations Reveal Host Galaxies Dominated by Mergers
• Identifying Compton-thick active galactic nuclei in the COSMOS. II. Searching among mid-infrared selected AGNs
• The major merger-active galactic nucleus connection up to the cosmic noon
• Enhanced activity in close dual-AGN systems in the local Universe
• Merger or Not: Accounting for Human Biases in Identifying Galactic Merger Signatures
• MIDIS: Quantifying the AGN component of X-ray-detected galaxies