Through the fog: a complementary optical galaxy classification scheme for 'intermediate' redshifts

TL;DR

This paper revisits the OB-I diagram, a galaxy classification tool based on emission lines, demonstrating its effectiveness across a wide redshift range up to z~2, especially for identifying AGN activity.

Contribution

It re-evaluates and validates the OB-I diagram as a robust galaxy classification method applicable from local to high redshift galaxies, with minimal adjustments.

Findings

OB-I diagram effectively separates galaxy types at z<0.4.

It recovers most AGNs identified by other schemes up to z~2.

The diagram is resistant to the cosmic shift affecting other optical classifications.

Abstract

Understanding galaxy classification depends on our interpretation of their spectra. To date, the hydrogen Balmer lines remain the most consistent way to classify galaxies, but at 'intermediate' redshifts ($1.5 < z < 2.5$), galaxies are hard to parse in the BPT diagram (and its siblings) because the crucial H$\alpha$ emission line is out of range of ground-based optical spectographs. In this work, we re-explore a known diagram, which we call the OB-I diagram, that compares the equivalent width of H$\beta$ with the emission line ratio of [OIII]$\lambda$5007/H$\beta$, and breathe new life into it, as it has the potential to 'illuminate the fog' that permeates galaxy classification in the restframe optical spectra. Using data from SDSS, LEGA-C, VANDELS, JADES, 3D-HST and MOSDEF, we explore galaxy classification in the OB-I diagram at a wide range of redshifts ($0 < z < 2.7$). We find that, at $z < 0.4$, the OB-I diagram clearly separates galaxies between two distinct types, which we divide with an empirical fit: one dominated by AGN and a second made up of a mixed population of SF galaxies and AGN activity. This mixed population can be partially separated from a pure SF population, with a simple semi-empirical fit derived from a comparison with theoretical models and the BPT diagrams. At higher redshifts, we find that the majority of AGNs identified by other classification schemes are correctly recovered by the OB-I diagram, potentially making this diagram resistant to the 'cosmic shift' that plagues most optical classification schemes. Overall, the OB-I diagram, which only requires two emission lines to be implemented, is a useful tool at separating galaxies that possess a dominating AGN component in their emission from others, from the Local Universe ($z < 0.1$) to the Cosmic Noon ($z \sim 2$), without any need for significant adjustments in our empirical fit.