Mildly Suppressed Star Formation in Central Regions of MaNGA Seyfert Galaxies

TL;DR

This study uses spatially-resolved Hα data to show that Seyfert galaxies with moderately active black holes exhibit mildly suppressed star formation in their central regions, indicating some feedback effect.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially-resolved evidence that moderate SMBH activity can mildly suppress star formation in the central regions of Seyfert galaxies.

Findings

Central star formation is mildly suppressed in Seyfert galaxies.

Moderate SMBH accretion can regulate star formation.

Feedback effects are evident in spatially-resolved measurements.

Abstract

Negative feedback from accretion onto super-massive black holes (SMBHs), that is to remove gas and suppress star formation in galaxies, has been widely suggested. However, for Seyfert galaxies which harbor less active, moderately accreting SMBHs in the local universe, the feedback capability of their black hole activity is elusive. We present spatially-resolved H$\alpha$ measurements to trace ongoing star formation in Seyfert galaxies and compare their specific star formation rate with a sample of star-forming galaxies whose global galaxy properties are controlled to be the same as the Seyferts. From the comparison we find that the star formation rates within central kpc of Seyfert galaxies are mildly suppressed as compared to the matched normal star forming galaxies. This suggests that the feedback of moderate SMBH accretion could, to some extent, regulate the ongoing star formation in these intermediate to late type galaxies under secular evolution.