J/A+A/690/A326ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/690/A326doi:10.26093/cds/vizier.36900326CDSLa Marca A.Margalef-Bentabol B.Wang L.Gao F.Goulding A.D.,Martin G.Rodriguez-Gomez V.Trager S.C.Yang G.Dave R.Dubois Y.2025-02-12T20:01:14Z2024-10-21T09:38:40ZCDS support team

CDS, Observatoire de Strasbourg, 11 rue de l'Universite, F-67000 Strasbourg, France

cds-question@unistra.frinteracting-galaxiesactive-galactic-nucleiredshiftedinfrared-photometryGalaxy mergers represent a fundamental physical process under hierarchical structure formation, but their role in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is still unclear. We aim to investigate the merger-AGN connection using state-of-the-art observations and novel methods in detecting mergers and AGNs. We selected stellar mass-limited samples at redshift z<1 from the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS), focusing on the KiDS-NW2 field with a wide range of multi-wavelength data. Three AGN types, selected in the mid-infrared (MIR), X-ray, and via spectral energy distribution (SED) modelling, were analysed. To identify mergers, we used convolutional neural networks trained on two cosmological simulations. We created mass- and redshift-matched control samples of non-mergers and non-AGNs. We first investigate the merger-AGN connection using a binary AGN/non-AGN classification. We observe a clear AGN excess (a factor of 2-3) in mergers with respect to non-mergers for the MIR AGNs, and a mild excess for the X-ray and SED AGNs, indicating that mergers could trigger all three types but are more connected with the MIR AGNs. About half of the MIR AGNs are in mergers but it is unclear whether mergers are the main trigger. For the X-ray and SED AGNs, mergers are unlikely to be the dominant triggering mechanism. We also explore the connection using the continuous AGN fraction f_AGN_ parameter. Mergers exhibit a clear excess of high f_AGN_ values relative to non-mergers, for all AGN types. We unveil the first merger fraction f_merger_-f_AGN_ relation with two distinct regimes. When the AGN is not very dominant, the relation is only mildly increasing or even flat, with the MIR AGNs showing the highest f_merger_. In the regime of very dominant AGNs (f_AGN_>=0.8), f_merger_ shows the same steeply rising trend with increasing f_AGN_ for all AGN types. These trends are also seen when plotted against AGN bolometric luminosity. We conclude that mergers are most connected with dust-obscured AGNs (generally linked to a fast-growing phase of the supermassive black hole) and are the main or even the sole fuelling mechanism of the most powerful AGNs.2024A&A...690A.326Lhttps://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/690/A326CatalogResearchIsServedByTAP VizieR generic serviceIsServedByConesearch servicerelated-toII/347 : KiDS-ESO-DR3 multi-band source catalog (de Jong+, 2017)II/328 : AllWISE Data Release (Cutri+ 2013)J/MNRAS/462/3146 : Herschel-ATLAS DR1 (HATLAS) (Valiante+, 2016)J/A+A/682/A34 : SRG/eROSITA all-sky survey catalogs, eRASS1 (Merloni+, 2024)J/A+A/679/A142 : Mergers in the HSC-SSP (Omori+, 2023)https://cds.unistra.fr/vizier-org/licences_vizier.htmlhttps://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/A+A/690/A326https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/A+A/690/A326http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/A+A/690/A326https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/A+A/690/A326https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/A+A/690/A326http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/votable?-source=J/A+A/690/A326GETtext/xml+votablehttps://tapvizier.cds.unistra.fr/TAPVizieR/tapCone search capability for table J/A+A/690/A326/light (Light Master Catalogue NW2)https://vizier.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/conesearch/J/A+A/690/A326/light?https://vizier.iucaa.in/viz-bin/conesearch/J/A+A/690/A326/light?http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/conesearch/J/A+A/690/A326/light?GETtext/xml+votable180.050000true132.1928268912450.164985867788630.0055555555555555564/1365 1706 5/1024-1026 5459 5468-5469 6819 6828 6830 10239 6/4108 4112 4128 21829-21831 21833 21835 21860-21861 21863 21880-21881 21884 27270-27271 27273-27275 27288 27290-27291 27316 27318-27319 27324 40949-40951 40953-40955https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/moc/J/A+A/690/A326?format=asciiInfrareddefaultJ/A+A/690/A326/lightLight Master Catalogue NW2recnoRecord number assigned by the VizieR team. 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