PRIMUS + DEEP2: CLUSTERING OF X-RAY, RADIO, AND IR-AGNs AT z ∼ 0.7

Abstract

ABSTRACT We measure the clustering of X-ray, radio, and mid-IR-selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 0.2 < z < 1.2 using multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic redshifts from the PRIMUS and DEEP2 redshift surveys, covering seven separate fields spanning ∼10. Using the cross-correlation of AGNs with dense galaxy samples, we measure the clustering scale length and slope, as well as the bias, of AGNs selected at different wavelengths. Similar to previous studies, we find that X-ray and radio AGNs are more clustered than mid-IR-selected AGNs. We further compare the clustering of each AGN sample with matched galaxy samples designed to have the same stellar mass, star-formation rate (SFR), and redshift distributions as the AGN host galaxies and find no significant differences between their clustering properties. The observed differences in the clustering of AGNs selected at different wavelengths can therefore be explained by the clustering differences of their host populations, which have different distributions in both stellar mass and SFR. Selection biases inherent in AGN selection therefore determine the clustering of observed AGN samples. We further find no significant difference between the clustering of obscured and unobscured AGNs, using IRAC or Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer colors or X-ray hardness ratio.