Modelling the narrow-line regions of active galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey - I. Sample selection and physical conditions

Abstract

Using spectroscopy from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Seven, we systematically determine the electron density ne and electron temperature Te of active galaxies and star-forming galaxies, while mainly focusing on the narrow-line regions (NLRs). Herein, active galaxies refer to composites, low-ionization narrow emission-line regions (LINERs) and Seyfert galaxies, following the Baldwin-Phillips-Terlevich diagram classifications afforded by the SDSS data. The plasma diagnostics of ne and Te are determined through the I[S II] λ6716/λ6731 and I[O III] λ5007/λ4363 ratios, respectively. By simultaneously determining ne from [S II] and Te from [O III] in our [O III] λ4363 emission sample of 15 019 galaxies, we find two clear sequences: TLINER ≳ Tcomposite > TSeyfert > Tstar-forming and nLINER ≳ nSeyfert > ncomposite > nstar-forming. The typical range of ne in the NLRs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is 102-3 cm-3. The temperatures in the NLRs range from 1.0 to 2.0 × 104 K for Seyferts, and the ranges are even higher and wider for LINERs and composites. The transitions of ne and Te from the NLRs to the discs are revealed. We also present a comparative study, including stellar mass (M*), specific star formation rate (SFR/M*) and plasma diagnostic results. We propose that YL ≥ YSY > YC > YSF, where Y is the characteristic present-day star-formation time-scale. One remarkable feature of the Seyferts shown on an M*-SFR/M* diagram, which we call the evolutionary pattern of AGNs with high ionization potential, is that the strong [O III] λ4363 Seyferts distribute uniformly with the weak Seyferts, definitely a reverse of the situation for star-forming galaxies. It is a natural and well-known consensus that strong [O III] λ4363 emissions in star-forming galaxies imply young stellar populations and thus low stellar masses. However, in the AGN case, several strong lines of evidence suggest that some supplementary energy source(s) should be responsible for high ionization potential. © 2013 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.