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arXiv · 2610.23349

Comparing Infrared & X-ray-selected Active Galactic Nuclei host galaxy star formation rates to the galaxy main sequence

Dustin T. Mason·James R. Mullaney·Liam P. Grimmett
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Abstract

A key method of exploring the relationship between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies is to determine the astrophysical properties of galaxies that host AGN, and compare them to those that do not. Star formation rates are believed to be strongly related to nuclear activity, both indirectly via their common fuel supply, and directly via the energy injected by the AGN either suppressing or enhancing star formation. Strong observational evidence of a direct link between nuclear activity and in-situ star formation has proven elusive, likely in part due to the very different timescales of nuclear activity and episodes of star formation. To overcome these challenges, some studies have demonstrated that evidence of the aforementioned link may be found in the distributions of AGN power and star formation rates. While previous attempts to determine these distributions have largely focused on X-ray-selected samples of AGN, in this study we also attempt to determine the star formation rate distributions of infrared-selected AGN. The results vary between our samples, but at low redshift (0.8 < z < 1.2) we find that more powerful X-ray-selected AGN are more likely to occur in galaxies with higher specific star formation rates, consistent with previous studies. At higher redshifts (1.0 < z < 1.8), this trend is reversed with higher power AGN tending to occur in galaxies with lower specific star formation rates. By contrast, infrared-selected galaxies at 1.0 < z < 1.8 show no evidence of a changing star formation rate distribution with AGN power.

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Dustin T. Mason, James R. Mullaney, Liam P. Grimmett. 2026-10-16. Comparing Infrared & X-ray-selected Active Galactic Nuclei host galaxy star formation rates to the galaxy main sequence. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fstag1956

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