Influences of galaxy interactions on AGN activity

Abstract

Using two volume-limited Main galaxy samples of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 , we explore influences of galaxy interactions on AGN activity. It is found that in the faint volume-limited sample, paired galaxies have a slightly higher AGN fraction than isolated galaxies, whereas in the luminous volume-limited sample, an opposite trend can be observed. The significance is <1σ. Thus, we do not observe strong evidence that interactions or mergers likely trigger the AGN activity. © 2013 Astronomical Society of Australia.