The AGN-Starburst Connection traced by the Nitrogen Abundance

Abstract

AbstractThe connection between the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star formation activity is one of the most important issues in understanding the coevolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and galaxies. In our recent study, by using SDSS quasar spectra we found that the emission-line flux rations involving a nitrogen line correlate with the Eddington ratio. This correlation suggests that the mass accretion in quasars is associated with a post-starburst phase, when AGB stars enrich the interstellar medium with the nitrogen. Moreover, we focused on nitrogen-loud quasars, that have prominent emission lines of the nitrogen, to investigate whether this argument is correct. In this symposium, we present our results regarding the relation between the star formation and feeding to SMBHs traced by the nitrogen abundance.