Local Environmental Effects on AGN Activities

The local environmental effects on the triggering of active galactic nucleus(AGN) activity has been studied with many authors, but there still be controversy. We perform statistical analysis for nearby(0.01 < z < 0.05) volume limited(Mr < -19) samples with visual inspection based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release7. We inspect ~60,000 galaxy images visually to find peculiar objects which show not only ongoing merging features and tidal features, but also post merging features like ring or shell structures. We found that these peculiar features were shown at least 2 times more frequently among AGN host galaxies than non AGN galaxies, and this trend was still visible when galaxy properties such as color or stellar mass are fixed. Furthermore, L[OIII] and L(Ha) of peculiar galaxies are found to be more increased than those of normal galaxies. In order to ensure this results, we also checked it for a smaller subsample with ~2mag deeper monochromatic images provided from SDSS Stripe82 database, and found consistent results. At last, we perform the same work for pair(r_p<80kpc/h, delta_v<200km/s) systems. Because of some pair systems which do not interact gravitationally in actuality but fulfill the criteria for identification of pair system, the trends are found to be slightly weaker. We also found that line luminosities are increased consistently as projected distance between central and companion galaxy decreased, and as companion color gets bluer. Overall, the results of this study tell us that the local environment of galaxies affect the frequency as well as the strength of AGN activity. Local environmental effects, however, may not be the dominant triggering mechanism for AGN activity since the majority of peculiar galaxies are non AGN galaxies.