TY - JOUR

T1 - COSMOS2020

T2 - Ubiquitous AGN Activity of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at 0 < z < 5 Revealed by X-Ray and Radio Stacking

AU - Ito, Kei

AU - Tanaka, Masayuki

AU - Miyaji, Takamitsu

AU - Ilbert, Olivier

AU - Kauffmann, Olivier B.

AU - Koekemoer, Anton M.

AU - Marchesi, Stefano

AU - Shuntov, Marko

AU - Toft, Sune

AU - Valentino, Francesco

AU - Weaver, John R.

PY - 2022/4/1

Y1 - 2022/4/1

N2 - We characterize the average X-ray and radio properties of quiescent galaxies (QGs) with log(M-*/M-circle dot)> 10 at 0 < z < 5. QGs are photometrically selected from the latest COSMOS2020 catalog. We conduct the stacking analysis of X-ray images of the Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey for individually undetected QGs. Thanks to the large sample and deep images, the stacked X-ray signal is significantly detected up to z similar to 5. The average X-ray luminosity cannot be explained by the X-ray luminosity of X-ray binaries, suggesting that the low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) ubiquitously exist in QGs. Moreover, the X-ray AGN luminosity of QGs at z > 1.5 is higher than that of star-forming galaxies (SFGs), derived in the same manner as QGs. The stacking analysis of the VLA-COSMOS images is conducted for the identical sample, and the radio signal for QGs is also detected up to z similar to 5. We find that the radio AGN luminosity of QGs at z > 1.5 is also higher than SFGs, which is in good agreement with the X-ray analysis. The enhanced AGN activity in QGs suggested by the individual analysis in the X-ray and radio wavelength supports its important role for quenching at high redshift. Their enhanced AGN activity is less obvious at z < 1.5, which can be interpreted as an increasing role of others at lower redshifts, such as environmental quenching.

AB - We characterize the average X-ray and radio properties of quiescent galaxies (QGs) with log(M-*/M-circle dot)> 10 at 0 < z < 5. QGs are photometrically selected from the latest COSMOS2020 catalog. We conduct the stacking analysis of X-ray images of the Chandra COSMOS Legacy Survey for individually undetected QGs. Thanks to the large sample and deep images, the stacked X-ray signal is significantly detected up to z similar to 5. The average X-ray luminosity cannot be explained by the X-ray luminosity of X-ray binaries, suggesting that the low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) ubiquitously exist in QGs. Moreover, the X-ray AGN luminosity of QGs at z > 1.5 is higher than that of star-forming galaxies (SFGs), derived in the same manner as QGs. The stacking analysis of the VLA-COSMOS images is conducted for the identical sample, and the radio signal for QGs is also detected up to z similar to 5. We find that the radio AGN luminosity of QGs at z > 1.5 is also higher than SFGs, which is in good agreement with the X-ray analysis. The enhanced AGN activity in QGs suggested by the individual analysis in the X-ray and radio wavelength supports its important role for quenching at high redshift. Their enhanced AGN activity is less obvious at z < 1.5, which can be interpreted as an increasing role of others at lower redshifts, such as environmental quenching.

KW - HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE

KW - STAR-FORMATION

KW - GALACTIC NUCLEI

KW - STELLAR MASS

KW - PASSIVE GALAXIES

KW - COOLING FLOWS

KW - BLACK-HOLES

KW - EVOLUTION

KW - ENVIRONMENT

KW - POPULATION

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac5aaf

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac5aaf

M3 - Journal article

VL - 929

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

SN - 0004-637X

IS - 1

M1 - 53

ER -