Related papers: Galaxy evolution in the post-merger regime. III --…
We examine the connection between galaxy mergers and the triggering of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using a sample of 614 type 1 AGNs at $z<0.07$, along with a control sample of inactive galaxies matched to the AGNs for comparison. We used…
In order to investigate the effects of galaxy mergers throughout the interaction sequence, we present a study of 10,800 galaxies in close pairs and a smaller sample of 97 post-mergers identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that…
The merger of two or more galaxies can enhance the inflow of material from galactic scales into the close environments of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), obscuring and feeding the supermassive black hole (SMBH). Both recent simulations and…
Galaxy mergers have long been proposed as a mechanism for funneling gas toward galactic centres, potentially triggering accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and igniting active galactic nuclei (AGN). While simulations often…
It has long been thought that there is a connection between ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), quasars, and major mergers. Indeed, simulations show that major mergers are capable of triggering massive starbursts and quasars. However,…
There is an ongoing debate concerning the driver of nuclear activity in galaxies, with AGN either being triggered by major or minor galactic mergers or, alternatively, through secular processes like cooling gas accretion and/or formation of…
It is not yet clear what triggers the activity of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), but galaxy merging has been suspected to be one of the main mechanisms fuelling the activity. Using deep optical images taken at various ground-based…
Galaxy mergers are known to trigger bursts of central star formation, which should therefore lead to stellar mass growth in their inner regions. However, observational measurements of this `burst mass fraction' are scant. Here, we assemble…
Recent observations of AGN activity in massive galaxies (log Mstar / Msun > 10.4) show that: 1) at z < 1, AGN-hosting galaxies do not show enhanced merger signatures compared to normal galaxies, 2) also at z < 1, most AGNs are hosted by…
Mergers of galaxies are a ubiquitous phenomenon in the Universe and represent a natural consequence of the ``bottom-up'' mass accumulation and galaxy evolution cosmological paradigm. It is generally accepted that the peak of AGN accretion…
Galaxy major mergers are a key pathway to trigger AGN. We present the first detection of major mergers in the Euclid Deep Fields and analyse their connection with AGN. We constructed a stellar-mass-complete ($M_*>10^{9.8}\,M_{\odot}$)…
Galaxy mergers are key events in galaxy evolution, often causing massive starbursts and fueling active galactic nuclei (AGN). In these highly dynamic systems, it is not yet precisely known how much starbursts and AGN respectively contribute…
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have been detected in the centers of most nearby massive galaxies. Galaxies today are the products of billions of years of galaxy mergers, but also billions of years of SMBH activity as active galactic…
Galaxy interactions are thought to be one of the main triggers of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), especially at high luminosities, where the accreted gas mass during the AGN lifetime is substantial. Evidence for a connection between mergers…
We present an analysis of the instantaneous supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion rates in a collection of 1563 post-merger galaxies drawn from the IllustrisTNG simulation. Our sample consists of galaxies that have experienced a merger…
Galaxy mergers are expected to have a profound influence on the star formation histories of galaxies. It is generally expected that mergers are the main drivers of galaxy mass growth through the accretion of mass and the triggering of new…
Which mechanism(s) are mainly driving nuclear activity in the centres of galaxies is a major unsettled question. In this study, we investigate the statistical relevance of galaxy mergers for fuelling gas onto the central few kpc of a…
The role of galaxy mergers in fueling active galactic nuclei (AGN) is still debated, owing partly to selection effects inherent to studies of the merger/AGN connection. In particular, luminous AGN are often heavily obscured in late-stage…
We consider the morphology, stellar populations, structure and AGN activity of 10 post-starburst (K+A) galaxies with HST observations, full spectral coverage in the optical, spectral energy distributions from 0.2 to 160 $\mu$m, X-ray and…
While supermassive black holes are ubiquitous features of galactic nuclei, only a small minority are observed during episodes of luminous accretion. The physical mechanism(s) driving the onset of fueling and ignition in these active…