Major Galaxy Mergers Only Trigger the Most Luminous AGN
E. Treister (U. de Concepcion, Chile), K. Schawinski (Yale/ETH), C. M., Urry (Yale), B. D. Simmons (Yale/Oxford)

TL;DR
This study shows that only the most luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) are triggered by major galaxy mergers, while less luminous AGN are mainly driven by secular processes, affecting black hole growth and galaxy evolution.
Contribution
It provides evidence that major galaxy mergers are primarily responsible for the highest luminosity AGN, clarifying their role in black hole growth and galaxy evolution.
Findings
High-luminosity AGN are strongly linked to major mergers.
Less luminous AGN are mainly driven by secular processes.
Major mergers account for about 50% of black hole mass growth.
Abstract
Using multiwavelength surveys of active galactic nuclei across a wide range of bolometric luminosities (10^{43}<L_{bol}(erg/s<5x10^{46}) and redshifts (0<z<3), we find a strong, redshift-independent correlation between the AGN luminosity and the fraction of host galaxies undergoing a major merger. That is, only the most luminous AGN phases are connected to major mergers, while less luminous AGN appear to be driven by secular processes. Combining this trend with AGN luminosity functions to assess the overall cosmic growth of black holes, we find that ~50% by mass is associated with major mergers, while only 10% of AGN by number, the most luminous, are connected to these violent events. Our results suggest that to reach the highest AGN luminosities -where the most massive black holes accreted the bulk of their mass - a major merger appears to be required. The luminosity dependence of the…
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