Abstract
Galaxy-galaxy mergers and close interactions have long been regarded as a viable mechanism for channeling gas toward the central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) of galaxies which are triggered as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). AGN pairs, in which the central SMBHs of a galaxy merger are both active, are expected to be common from such events. We conduct a systematic study of 1286 AGN pairs at z ~ 0.1 with line-of-sight velocity offsets dv < 600 km/s and projected separations r_p < 100 kpc, selected from the Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This AGN pair sample was drawn from 138,070 AGNs optically identified based on diagnostic emission line ratios and/or line widths. The fraction of AGN pairs with 5 kpc ~< r_p < 100 kpc among all spectroscopically selected AGNs at 0.02 < z < 0.16 is 3.6% after correcting for SDSS spectroscopic incompleteness; ~ 30% of these pairs show morphological tidal features in their SDSS images, and the fraction becomes >~ 80% for pairs with the brightest nuclei. Our sample increases the number of known AGN pairs on these scales by more than an order of magnitude. We present their AGN and host-galaxy star formation properties in a companion paper.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
