Active Galactic Nuclei in a Mid-infrared Selected Galaxy Sample at z > 0.13: [Ne v]λ3426 Line Emission as a Benchmark

Abstract

Abstract We present a 24 μm-selected spectroscopic sample z > 0.13 (median 〈z〉 = 0.41) in the Lockman Hole field, consisting of 4035 spectra. Our aim is to identify active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and determine their fraction in this mid-infrared-selected sample. In this work, we use the [Ne v]λ3426 emission line to spectroscopically identify AGNs. Combined with broad-line Type I AGNs selected in our previous study, our sample consists of 887 (∼22%) spectroscopically confirmed AGNs. We perform a stacking analysis on the remaining spectra and find that in various mid-infrared (MIR) wedge-selected AGN candidates, the stacked spectra still show significant [Ne v]λ3426 emission. In contrast, no clear [Ne v]λ3426 signal is detected in non-AGN candidates falling outside the wedges. Assuming a range of AGN MIR spectral energy distribution (SED) slope of −0.3 <α < 0.7, and an average star-forming relation derived from 65 star-forming templates, we develop a robust method to separate the AGN and star-forming contributions to the MIR SEDs using the rest-frame L 12/L 1.6 versus L 4.5/L 1.6 diagram. We separate the objects into bins of L 12 and find that the AGN fraction increases with increasing L 12. We also find that the stacked [Ne v]λ3426 strength scales with L 12. The pure AGN luminosity at 12 μm exhibits a positive correlation with the star formation rates, indicating possible coevolution and common gas supply between the AGNs and their host galaxies. Varying population properties across the redshift range explored contribute to the observed correlation.