X-Ray Surface Brightness Profiles of Optically Selected Active Galactic Nuclei: Comparison with X-Ray AGNs

Abstract

We use data from the All Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey to construct stacked X-ray maps of optically bright active galaxies (AGN) and an associated control sample of galaxies at high redshift (z ∼ 0.6). From our analysis of the surface brightness profiles obtained from these X-ray maps, we find evidence of feedback from the active nuclei. We find that excluding galaxies and AGN, residing in group environments, from our samples enhances the significance of our detection. Our results support the tentative findings of Chatterjee et al. who use X-ray selected AGN for their analysis. We discuss the implications of these results in the context of quantifying AGN feedback and show that the current method can be used to extract X-ray source population in high redshift galaxies.

Cosmological Simulation of Galaxy Groups and Clusters. I. Global Effect of Feedback from Active Galactic Nuclei

“…However, we explain that this overdensity is probably coming from the accumulation of gas that has being pushed out of the central region due to feedback. Similar feature is also found in the radial profile of the Xray flux (Mukherjee et al 2019) as the main X-ray emitting mechanism from clusters is thermal bremsstrahlung. So, it is expected that the density profile will follow the X-ray profile.…”

“…In this work we study the effect of AGN feedback on temperature, density and stellar mass and examine their global effects. In a follow up paper, using K15 and D08 data (Kar Chowdhury et al 2019B, in preparation) we perform a detailed X-ray analysis of the intracluster medium and compare our results with the studies of Chatterjee et al (2015) and Mukherjee et al (2019).…”

“…In recent studies involving X-ray stacking analysis of AGN at moderately high redshift (z ≈ 0.6) Chatterjee et al (2015) and Mukherjee et al (2019) showed that AGN at large have lower X-ray fluxes in the central region compared to the Xray flux of galaxies without AGN. They propose a promising technique in studying the X-ray gas in higher redshift galaxies for quantifying AGN feedback.…”

The Resolved Sunyaev--Zel'dovich Profiles of Nearby Galaxy Groups

“…Given the fact groups exist in shallower potential wells than clusters, outflows from galaxy groups do not have to fight as hard to propagate outward. Therefore, AGN outflows may be capable of driving gas from the central regions of galaxy groups out to large distances ( R 500 1 ; Roychowdhury et al 2005, Mukherjee et al 2019, Ishibashi & Fabian 2016. In turn, one would expect to see a deficit of gas within R 500 relative to the self-similar prediction for low-mass systems, and this prompted the search for the predicted "breaking" of scaling relations (Eckmiller et al 2011, Gaspari et al 2014, Lovisari et al 2015, Paul et al 2017, Farahi et al 2018, Pratt & Bregman 2020, Sereno et al 2020.…”

Simulated X‐ray emission in galaxy clusters with feedback from active galactic nuclei

“…In this work, we employ cosmological simulations of galaxy groups and clusters (including and excluding AGN feedback) and model the X‐ray emission from them using the Astrophysical Plasma Emission Code (APEC: Smith et al 2001) to construct the synthetic Chandra photon maps of these systems to compare our work with observations (Chatterjee et al 2015; Mukherjee et al 2019, M19 hereafter). Previous studies that have pioneered these techniques of mock observations were carried out by Biffi et al (2012); Biffi et al (2018); Cucchetti et al (2018); Mendygral et al (2011); Nagai et al (2007); Wilms et al (2014).…”