Radio AGN in nearby dwarf galaxies: the important role of AGN in dwarf-galaxy evolution

Abstract

We combine deep optical and radio data, from the Hyper Suprime-Cam and the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) respectively, to study 78 radio AGN in nearby (z<0.5) dwarf galaxies. Comparison to a control sample, matched in stellar mass and redshift, indicates that the AGN and controls reside in similar environments, show similar star-formation rates (which trace gas availability) and exhibit a comparable incidence of tidal features (which indicate recent interactions). We explore the AGN properties by combining the predicted gas conditions in dwarfs from a cosmological hydrodynamical simulation with a Monte-Carlo suite of simulated radio sources, based on a semi-analytical model for radio-galaxy evolution. In the subset of LOFAR-detectable simulated sources, which have a similar distribution of radio luminosities as our observed AGN, the median jet powers, ages and accretion rates are $\sim 10^{35}$ W, $\sim 5$ Myr and $\sim 10^{-3.4}$ M${}_{\odot }$ yr${}^{-1}$ respectively. The median mechanical energy output of these sources is $\sim 100$ times larger than the median binding energy expected in dwarf gas reservoirs, making AGN feedback plausible. Since special circumstances (in terms of environment, gas availability and interactions) are not necessary for the presence of AGN, and the central gas masses are predicted to be an order of magnitude larger than that required to fuel the AGN, AGN triggering in dwarfs is likely to be stochastic and a common phenomenon. Together with the plausibility of energetic feedback, this suggests that AGN could be important drivers of dwarf-galaxy evolution, as is the case in massive galaxies.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (36)

• Too big to fail? The puzzling darkness of massive Milky Way subhaloes
• Hot and cold gas accretion and feedback in radio-loud active galaxies
• A New Sample of Low-mass Black Holes in Active Galaxies
• The evolution of massive black hole seeds
• The dark nemesis of galaxy formation: why hot haloes trigger black hole growth and bring star formation to an end
• Introducing the NewHorizon simulation: Galaxy properties with resolved internal dynamics across cosmic time
• The spatial distribution of the Milky Way and Andromeda satellite galaxies
• LOFAR/H-ATLAS: The low-frequency radio luminosity - star-formation rate relation
• Two Planes of Satellites in the Centaurus A Group
• X-ray constraints on the local supermassive black hole occupation fraction
• Black Holes at the Centers of Nearby Dwarf Galaxies
• The UV properties of E+A galaxies: constraints on feedback-driven quenching of star formation
• The formation and evolution of low-surface-brightness galaxies
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): The galaxy stellar mass function to $z=0.1$ from the r-band selected equatorial regions
• Hidden AGN in dwarf galaxies revealed by MaNGA: light echoes, off-nuclear wanderers, and a new broad-line AGN
• X-ray and Ultraviolet Properties of AGN in Nearby Dwarf Galaxies
• An X-ray Selected Sample of Candidate Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies
• X-ray Detected AGN in SDSS Dwarf Galaxies
• Relative Role of Stars and Quasars in Cosmic Reionization
• Radio jets from AGN in dwarf galaxies in the COSMOS survey: mechanical feedback out to redshift $\sim$3.4
• A little FABLE: exploring AGN feedback in dwarf galaxies with cosmological simulations
• The role of mergers and interactions in driving the evolution of dwarf galaxies over cosmic time
• Populating the low-mass end of the $M_{\mathrm{BH}}-{\sigma }_{\ast }$ relation
• Fast and energetic AGN-driven outflows in simulated dwarf galaxies
• Revealing the intermediate-mass black hole at the heart of the dwarf galaxy NGC 404 with sub-parsec resolution ALMA observations
• Estimating Luminosities and Stellar Masses of Galaxies Photometrically without Determining Redshifts
• On The Efficiency of Jet Production in Radio Galaxies
• Evidence for recent star formation in BCGs: a correspondence between blue cores and UV excess
• The origin of low-surface-brightness galaxies in the dwarf regime
• Integral-Field Spectroscopy of Fast Outflows in Dwarf Galaxies with AGN
• An Optically Obscured AGN in a Low Mass, Irregular Dwarf Galaxy: A Multi-Wavelength Analysis of J1329+3234
• A Multi-wavelength Study of the Turbulent Central Engine of the Low-mass AGN hosted by NGC404
• Hard X-ray selected AGNs in low-mass galaxies from the NuSTAR serendipitous survey
• Investigating the spectral age problem with powerful radio galaxies
• Dwarf Galaxies and the Black-Hole Scaling Relations
• The low-surface-brightness Universe: a new frontier in the study of galaxy evolution

Cited by in corpus (29)

• GA-NIFS: A massive black hole in a low-metallicity AGN at $z\sim 5.55$ revealed by JWST/NIRSpec IFS
• Two can play at that game: constraining the role of supernova and AGN feedback in dwarf galaxies with cosmological zoom-in simulations
• MaNGA AGN dwarf galaxies (MAD) -- I. A new sample of AGN in dwarf galaxies with spatially resolved spectroscopy
• Overmassive black holes in dwarf galaxies out to z$\sim$0.9 in the VIPERS survey
• The Lunar Gravitational-wave Antenna: Mission Studies and Science Case
• Overmassive black holes at cosmic noon: linking the local and the high-redshift Universe
• Population statistics of intermediate mass black holes in dwarf galaxies using the NewHorizon simulation
• The SAGA Survey. IV. The Star Formation Properties of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies
• A unified accretion disc model for supermassive black holes in galaxy formation simulations: method and implementation
• The environment of AGN dwarf galaxies at z$\sim$0.7 from the VIPERS survey
• The morphological mix of dwarf galaxies in the nearby Universe
• EDGE: The emergence of dwarf galaxy scaling relations from cosmological radiation-hydrodynamics simulations
• Strategies for optimal sky subtraction in the low surface brightness regime
• Identification and Characterization of a Large Sample of Distant Active Dwarf Galaxies in XMM-SERVS
• Intermediate-mass black holes: finding of episodic, large-scale and powerful jet activity in a dwarf galaxy
• Molecular Flows in Contemporary Active Galaxies and the Efficacy of Radio-Mechanical Feedback
• Constraints from dwarf galaxies on black hole seeding and growth models with current and future surveys
• Relaxed blue ellipticals: accretion-driven stellar growth is a key evolutionary channel for low mass elliptical galaxies
• X-Ray Bright Active Galactic Nuclei in Local Dwarf Galaxies: Insights from eROSITA
• A possible signature of the influence of tidal perturbations in dwarf galaxy scaling relations
• A Wide and Deep Exploration of Radio Galaxies with Subaru HSC (WERGS). VII. Redshift Evolution of Radio Galaxy Environments at z=0.3-1.4
• Radio observations of four active galactic nuclei hosting intermediate-mass black hole candidates: studying the outflow activity and evolution
• Diverse dark matter profiles in FIRE dwarfs: black holes, cosmic rays and the cusp-core enigma
• Identification of Intermediate-mass Black Hole Candidates Among a Sample of Sd Galaxies
• Cosmic reflections I: the structural diversity of simulated and observed low-mass galaxy analogues
• MaNGA AGN dwarf galaxies (MAD). III. The role of mergers and environment in active galactic nucleus activity in dwarf galaxies
• A Morphological Study on AGN-host Dwarf Galaxies
• A LOFAR sample of luminous compact sources coincident with nearby dwarf galaxies
• MaNGA AGN dwarf galaxies (MAD) -- IV. Revealing hidden AGN in dwarf galaxies with radio observations