PRIMUS + DEEP2: Clustering of X-ray, Radio and IR-AGN at z~0.7

TL;DR

This study measures the clustering of X-ray, radio, and IR-selected AGN at z~0.7, revealing that differences in observed clustering are due to host galaxy properties and selection biases, not intrinsic AGN differences.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of AGN clustering across multiple wavelengths and shows that host galaxy characteristics explain observed clustering variations.

Findings

X-ray and radio AGN are more clustered than mid-IR AGN.

Clustering differences are due to host galaxy properties, not AGN type.

No significant clustering difference between obscured and unobscured AGN.

Abstract

We measure the clustering of X-ray, radio, and mid-IR-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) at 0.2 < z < 1.2 using multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic redshifts from the PRIMUS and DEEP2 redshift surveys, covering 7 separate fields spanning ~10 square degrees. Using the cross-correlation of AGN with dense galaxy samples, we measure the clustering scale length and slope, as well as the bias, of AGN selected at different wavelengths. Similar to previous studies, we find that X-ray and radio AGN are more clustered than mid-IR-selected AGN. We further compare the clustering of each AGN sample with matched galaxy samples designed to have the same stellar mass, star formation rate, and redshift distributions as the AGN host galaxies and find no significant differences between their clustering properties. The observed differences in the clustering of AGN selected at different wavelengths can therefore be explained by the clustering differences of their host populations, which have different distributions in both stellar mass and star formation rate. Selection biases inherent in AGN selection, therefore, determine the clustering of observed AGN samples. We further find no significant difference between the clustering of obscured and unobscured AGN, using IRAC or WISE colors or X-ray hardness ratio.