UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO Multi-wavelength Analysis of Active Galactic Nuclei and Host Galaxies Physical Properties A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Physics by Mojegan Azadi Committee in charge: Professor Alison Coil, Chair Professor William Coles Professor Dusan Keres Professor Jeremie Palacci Professor Shelley Wright 2017 Copyright Mojegan Azadi, 2017 All rights reserved. The Dissertation of Mojegan Azadi is approved and is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: Chair University of California, San Diego 2017 iii DEDICATION To my husband for his love and support, my mom for her selfless affection and dedication, and my dad for encouraging me to pursue my dreams. iv EPIGRAPH The stars that dwell on celestial vault are to spark the path of wisdom, Take heed and don’t lose the source of wisdom, or you will be an aimless wanderer who goes astray. Omar Khayyam v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page . iii Dedication . iv Epigraph . v Table of Contents . vi List of Figures . ix List of Tables . xiii Acknowledgements . xiv Vita................................................................. xv Abstract of the Dissertation . xvii Chapter 1 Introduction . 1 1.1 Galaxies Classification and Properties . 3 1.2 Active Galactic Nuclei . 6 1.2.1 AGN Classification . 8 1.2.2 Multi-wavelength Analysis of AGN . 9 1.3 The Rest-frame Optical Spectroscopy . 11 1.4 Thesis Outline . 12 Chapter 2 PRIMUS: The relationship between Star formation and AGN accretion 13 2.1 abstract . 13 2.2 Introduction . 14 2.3 Data . 21 2.3.1 PRIMUS . 21 2.3.2 X-ray data . 22 2.3.3 Stellar Mass and SFR Estimates . 24 2.3.4 Stellar mass completeness limits . 28 2.4 Results . 29 2.4.1 The relationship between SFR and stellar mass with LX . 29 2.4.2 The relationship between SFR and stellar mass with LX for star forming and quiescent galaxies . 34 2.4.3 The fraction of star forming AGN host galaxies . 39 2.4.4 The relationship between SFR and specific accretion rate . 43 2.4.5 The probability of a galaxy hosting an AGN as a function of star formation rate . 48 vi 2.5 Discussion . 54 2.5.1 Is there a correlation between SFR and AGN luminosity? . 54 2.5.2 Average X-ray luminosity versus SFR . 56 2.5.3 Where do AGN live? . 59 2.6 Summary . 61 2.7 Acknowledgements . 63 Chapter 3 The MOSDEF Survey: AGN Multi-Wavelength Identification, Selec- tion Biases And Host Galaxy Properties . 65 3.1 Abstract . 65 3.2 Introduction . 66 3.3 Sample and Measurements . 72 3.3.1 The MOSDEF Survey . 73 3.3.2 X-ray AGN Selection . 74 3.3.3 IR AGN Selection . 75 3.3.4 Spectroscopic Data and Optical AGN Selection . 78 3.3.5 Stellar Mass and SFR Estimates . 87 3.3.6 [O III] Luminosity as a Proxy of AGN Activity . 90 3.4 Results . 93 3.4.1 The Relationship between X-ray and Optical Emission . 94 3.4.2 AGN Luminosities and Specific Accretion Rates . 97 3.4.3 AGN Host Galaxy Properties . 101 3.4.4 The Relationship between Star Formation and AGN Activity . 108 3.5 Discussion . 109 3.5.1 Uniqueness and Overlap of AGN Identified at Different Wave- lengths . 110 3.5.2 AGN Selection Biases . 113 3.5.3 MOSDEF Host Galaxy Properties Compared to the Literature . 115 3.5.4 Are the Growth of Black holes and the Growth of their Host Galaxies Correlated at z ∼ 2? . 117 3.6 Summary . 119 3.7 Acknowledgements . 121 Chapter 4 The MOSDEF Survey: The Nature of Mid Infrared Excess Galaxies 123 4.1 Abstract . 123 4.2 Introduction . 124 4.3 Data . 129 4.3.1 The MOSDEF Survey . 129 4.3.2 Emission Line Measurements . 130 4.3.3 AGN Sample . 131 4.3.4 Stellar Mass Measurement . 133 4.3.5 24 mm Flux Density and L8 Measurements . 133 4.3.6 Herschel/PACS Data and IR Stacking Analysis . 134 vii 4.4 Analysis and Results . 136 4.4.1 Definition of MIR-Excess Galaxies . 136 4.4.2 MIR-Excess Galaxies in MOSDEF . 137 4.4.3 AGN in MIR-Excess Galaxies . 149 4.4.4 X-ray Stacking Analysis of MIR-Excess Galaxies . 150 4.4.5 MIR-Excess and Stellar Mass . 152 4.5 Discussion . 154 4.5.1 UV Spectral Slope Measurements . 154 4.5.2 IMF Effect on Identification of Mid-IR Excess Galaxies . 156 4.5.3 AGN Contribution in MIR-Excess and X-ray Depth in Stacking Analysis . 157 4.5.4 Comparison with Daddi et al. (2007a) . 160 4.6 Summary . 161 Acknowledgements . 163 Chapter 5 Conclusions and Future Work . 164 Bibliography . 169 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. The Hubble sequence composed of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey images taken from the Galaxy Zoo project. ..