The influence of AGN feedback on star formation in red spiral galaxies

TL;DR

This study explores how Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback influences star formation in spiral galaxies, finding evidence for both quenching and enhancement effects depending on galaxy color and AGN activity indicators.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of optical and X-ray data to assess AGN feedback's role in galaxy evolution, highlighting its dual impact on star formation in red and blue spirals.

Findings

Red spirals mostly show AGN/LINER signatures indicating star formation quenching.

Blue spirals often exhibit high X-ray luminosity, suggesting possible star formation enhancement.

AGN feedback influences the transition from blue to red spiral galaxies.

Abstract

We investigated the influence of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) feedback on star formation in red spiral galaxies by analyzing a sample of 324 red and 273 blue face-on spirals selected from 115 low-redshift galaxy clusters. This multi-wavelength dataset combines optical emission line data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with X-ray fluxes from Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray space telescopes. Using diagnostic emission line ratios, we constructed Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich (BPT) diagrams, introduced in 1981 to classify galaxies based on nuclear activity. Our analysis reveals that most red spirals exhibit AGN or low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) signatures, based on optical data, as determined by their location in the BPT, Cid Fernandes, and Mazzolari diagrams. These results are consistent with the presence of negative feedback from AGNs quenching star formation. Conversely, X-ray analysis reveals that many blue spirals exhibit high X-ray luminosities and are situated in the AGN region of emission line ratio diagrams, suggesting that AGN-driven positive feedback may be enhancing star formation. Our findings support the hypothesis that AGN feedback plays a key role in the evolution of spiral galaxies, particularly in quenching star formation and driving the transition from blue to red spiral systems.