X-Ray Emitting Active Galactic Nuclei from z = 0.6-1.3 in the Intermediate and High-Density Environments of the ORELSE Survey

Nicholas Rumbaugh,B. C. Lemaux,Adam R. Tomczak,D. D. Kocevski,Lori M. Lubin,Po-Feng Wu,Roy R. Gal,Lu Shen,A. Mansheim,C. D. Fassnacht,Gordon K. Squires

X-Ray Emitting Active Galactic Nuclei from z = 0.6-1.3 in the Intermediate and High-Density Environments of the ORELSE Survey

2016

We studied AGN activity in twelve LSSs in the ORELSE survey, at 0.65sub-samples based on the spectral properties of their parents LSSs. We found one of the sub-samples, SG0023 & SC1604, stood out from the others: AGNs in this sample were disproportionately luminous, their average time since the last starburst event was the smallest, despite the fact that this was not true of the overall galaxy population in those LSSs, and both the AGNs and the overall galaxy population had the largest fraction of close kinematic pairs, which indicates a higher rate of galaxy mergers and interactions. These results suggest that major mergers are driving AGN activity in SG0023 & SC1604, while other processes are likely triggering less luminous AGNs in the rest of our sample. Additionally, minor mergers are unlikely to play a significant role, since the same conditions that lead to more major mergers should should also lead to more minor mergers, which is not observed in SG0023 & SC1604.

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