Signatures of AGN-induced Metal Loss in the Stellar Population

Abstract One way the active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to influence the evolution of their host galaxies is by removing metal content via outflows. In this article we present results that show that AGN can have an effect on the chemical enrichment of their host galaxies using the fossil reco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAstrophysical journal. Letters Vol. 922; no. 1; p. L20
Main Authors Camps-Fariña, A., Sánchez, S. F., Carigi, L., Lacerda, E. A. D., García-Benito, R., Mast, D., Galbany, L., Barrera-Ballesteros, J. K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Austin The American Astronomical Society 01.11.2021
IOP Publishing
Subjects
Active galactic nuclei
AGN host galaxies
Enrichment
Galactic evolution
Galaxies
Galaxy chemical evolution
Galaxy jets
Metal content
Metallicity
Outflow
Star formation
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Summary:Abstract One way the active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to influence the evolution of their host galaxies is by removing metal content via outflows. In this article we present results that show that AGN can have an effect on the chemical enrichment of their host galaxies using the fossil record technique on CALIFA galaxies. We classified the chemical enrichment histories of all galaxies in our sample regarding whether they show a drop in the value of their metallicity. We find that galaxies currently hosting an AGN are more likely to show this drop in their metal content compared to the quiescent sample. Once we separate the sample by their star-forming status we find that star-forming galaxies are less likely to have a drop in metallicity but have deeper decreases when these appear. This behavior could be evidence for the influence of either pristine gas inflows or galactic outflows triggered by starbursts, both of which can produce a drop in metallicity.
Bibliography:AAS34245
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.3847/2041-8213/ac37c1