Fall Research Expo 2021

Spatial Distribution of Metallicity in AGN Host Galaxies from the MaNGA Survey

There currently exists no consistent profile for the radial metallicity of galaxies with Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). Integral field spectroscopy (IFS) has enabled a considerable step forward in understanding galaxy evolution, providing mapped information on the kinematics of the gas and stars, and on galaxy properties, in terms of the level of gas ionization and its metal content (i.e., its chemical abundance). Using IFS data from the MaNGA survey, this research project aims to investigate the internal structures of a sample of AGN host galaxies, in terms of the shape of the metal distribution in the gas, whose trend with other galaxy properties (e.g., stellar mass) will help us obtain hints on the impact of AGN activity on galaxy evolution. The preliminary results from this project indicate that AGN regions have lower metallicities than do star-forming regions in the sampled host galaxies. On this basis, the calibrations for AGN metallicity need to be adjusted or redefined to account for the discontinuity in the radial metallicity profile.

PRESENTED BY
Benjamin Franklin Scholars Summer Grant
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PRESENTED BY
Benjamin Franklin Scholars Summer Grant
Space Telescope Science Institute

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