The M*-Mhalo relation at 0.08 < z < 1.53 in COSMOS: the role of AGN radio-mode feedback

TL;DR

This study examines how radio-mode feedback from AGN influences the galaxy-dark matter halo relationship across redshifts 0.08 to 1.53, revealing that AGN activity significantly impacts galaxy evolution models.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence of radio-mode AGN feedback affecting the M* - Mhalo relation over a broad redshift range, comparing radio-selected AGN and star-forming galaxies.

Findings

AGN follow the theoretical M* - Mhalo relation within 1%.

Star-forming galaxies show a 37% offset from the relation.

Radio-mode feedback remains influential at median redshift ~0.5.

Abstract

In the current picture of cosmology and astrophysics, the formation and evolution of galaxies is closely linked to that of their dark matter haloes. The best representation of this galaxy-dark matter halo co-evolution is the M* - Mhalo relation. In this study we investigate how the radio-mode feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) affects the M* - Mhalo relation at redshifts 0.08 < z < 1.53. We use a set of 111 radio-selected AGN at 3 GHz VLA-COSMOS within the X-ray galaxy groups in the COSMOS field. We compare these results to the ones of 171 star-forming galaxies (SFGs), using the theoretical relation of Moster et al. (2013). We find that AGN agree within 1% with the Moster et al. (2013) relation, SFGs show an offset of 37%, suggesting that the radio-mode feedback from AGN at a median redshift of ~ 0.5 still plays a significant role in the M* - Mhalo relation.