VLT-MUSE spectroscopy of AGNs misclassified by BPT diagnostic or with weak emission lines

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite powerful X-ray emission, some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are known to either lack optical emission lines (so-called ‘optically dull’ AGNs) or have lines that fall on the star-forming branch of the Baldwin–Phillips–Terlevich (BPT) diagram (‘misclassified’ AGNs). Aperture effects have been proposed to explain such atypical spectra, especially when based on Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; 3 arcsec) fibres. We use observations from VLT-MUSE with Adaptive Optics to explore the spatially resolved optical emission line properties of four optically dull and one misclassified X-ray AGN candidates. VLT-MUSE IFU spectra allow us to investigate the extent to which the aperture size affects the emission line measurements. The optically dull AGNs become detectable in deeper VLT-MUSE spectroscopic apertures having the same size (3 arcsec) as SDSS fibres, suggesting no AGN is truly lineless. However, in no case does the line become more detectable as the aperture decreases, as would be expected if dilution by strong continuum was responsible for making the lines appear weak. We also show that the misclassified X-ray AGN retains the same position on the BPT diagram in smaller apertures (down to 0.5 arcsec), demonstrating that its misclassification is not the result of the dilution by H ii regions. Thus, we conclude that continuum swamping or star formation dilution, i.e. aperture effects, are not responsible for atypical lines. Rather, the AGN lines are intrinsically weak.