The Correlation of Outflow Kinematics with Star Formation Rate. VI. Gas Outflows in AGNs

Abstract

We investigate the connection between ionized gas outflows and star formation activity using a large sample of type 1 and 2 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with far-infrared detections or star formation rate (SFR) estimates. The strength of ionized gas outflows, measured by the velocity dispersion and velocity shift of the [O iii ] emission line, clearly shows a correlation with SFR. The connection between specific star formation rate (sSFR) and [O iii ] gas velocity dispersion indicates that AGNs with stronger outflows are hosted by galaxies with higher SFR. Compared with star-forming galaxies in the main sequence, both type 1 and type 2 AGNs show sSFRs similar to that of non-AGN galaxies, indicating no instantaneous AGN feedback, while sSFR is higher (lower) for AGNs with stronger (weaker) outflows than that of main-sequence galaxies. These results are consistent with a delayed AGN feedback scenario. However, it is also possible that a decease/increase of gas fraction may cause the correlation without AGN feedback.