Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey
Current methods of identifying the ionizing source of nebular emission in galaxies are well defined for the era of single-fiber spectroscopy, but still struggle to differentiate the complex and overlapping ionization sources in some galaxies. With the advent of integral field spectroscopy, the limit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace90e |
| _version_ | 1827825738416390144 |
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| author | Victor D. Johnston Anne M. Medling Brent Groves Lisa J. Kewley Luca Cortese Scott Croom Ángel R. López-Sánchez Henry Zovaro Joss Bland-Hawthorn Julia Bryant Jon Lawrence Matt Owers Samuel Richards Jesse van de Sande |
| author_facet | Victor D. Johnston Anne M. Medling Brent Groves Lisa J. Kewley Luca Cortese Scott Croom Ángel R. López-Sánchez Henry Zovaro Joss Bland-Hawthorn Julia Bryant Jon Lawrence Matt Owers Samuel Richards Jesse van de Sande |
| author_sort | Victor D. Johnston |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Current methods of identifying the ionizing source of nebular emission in galaxies are well defined for the era of single-fiber spectroscopy, but still struggle to differentiate the complex and overlapping ionization sources in some galaxies. With the advent of integral field spectroscopy, the limits of these previous classification schemes are more apparent. We propose a new method for distinguishing the ionizing source in resolved galaxy spectra by use of a multidimensional diagnostic diagram that compares emission-line ratios with velocity dispersion on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis within a galaxy. This new method is tested using the Sydney-Australian-Astronomical-Observatory Multi-object Integral-Field Spectrograph Galaxy Survey (SAMI) Data Release 3 (DR3), which contains 3068 galaxies at z < 0.12. Our results are released as ionization maps available alongside the SAMI DR3 public data. Our method accounts for a more diverse range of ionization sources than the standard suite of emission-line diagnostics; we find 1433 galaxies with a significant contribution from non-star-forming ionization using our improved method as compared to 316 galaxies identified using only emission-line ratio diagnostics. Within these galaxies, we further identify 886 galaxies hosting unique signatures inconsistent with standard ionization by H ii regions, active galactic nuclei, or shocks. These galaxies span a wide range of masses and morphological types and comprise a sizable portion of the galaxies used in our sample. With our revised method, we show that emission-line diagnostics alone do not adequately differentiate the multiple ways to ionize gas within a galaxy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:55:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb9cf2dfa4754a57a7e3cbf9cece7ebb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T02:55:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb9cf2dfa4754a57a7e3cbf9cece7ebb2023-09-03T15:23:30ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572023-01-0195417710.3847/1538-4357/ace90eBeyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy SurveyVictor D. Johnston0Anne M. Medling1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7421-2944Brent Groves2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9768-0246Lisa J. Kewley3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8152-3943Luca Cortese4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7422-9823Scott Croom5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2880-9197Ángel R. López-Sánchez6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8083-8046Henry Zovaro7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4334-9811Joss Bland-Hawthorn8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7516-4016Julia Bryant9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1627-9301Jon Lawrence10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6998-6993Matt Owers11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2879-1663Samuel Richards12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5368-0068Jesse van de Sande13https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2552-0021Ritter Astrophysical Research Center and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH 43606, USARitter Astrophysical Research Center and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Toledo , Toledo, OH 43606, USA; ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , AustraliaInternational Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, The University of Western Australia , 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney , NSW 2006, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University , NSW 2109, Australia; School of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Macquarie University , NSW 2109, Australia; Macquarie University Research Centre for Astronomy, Astrophysics & Astrophotonics , Sydney, NSW 2109, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Mount Stromlo Observatory, Australia National University , Cotter Road, Weston, ACT 2611, AustraliaSydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney , NSW 2006, AustraliaSydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney , NSW 2006, AustraliaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University , NSW 2109, AustraliaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University , NSW 2109, AustraliaSydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney , NSW 2006, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) , Australia; Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, A28, The University of Sydney , NSW 2006, AustraliaCurrent methods of identifying the ionizing source of nebular emission in galaxies are well defined for the era of single-fiber spectroscopy, but still struggle to differentiate the complex and overlapping ionization sources in some galaxies. With the advent of integral field spectroscopy, the limits of these previous classification schemes are more apparent. We propose a new method for distinguishing the ionizing source in resolved galaxy spectra by use of a multidimensional diagnostic diagram that compares emission-line ratios with velocity dispersion on a spaxel-by-spaxel basis within a galaxy. This new method is tested using the Sydney-Australian-Astronomical-Observatory Multi-object Integral-Field Spectrograph Galaxy Survey (SAMI) Data Release 3 (DR3), which contains 3068 galaxies at z < 0.12. Our results are released as ionization maps available alongside the SAMI DR3 public data. Our method accounts for a more diverse range of ionization sources than the standard suite of emission-line diagnostics; we find 1433 galaxies with a significant contribution from non-star-forming ionization using our improved method as compared to 316 galaxies identified using only emission-line ratio diagnostics. Within these galaxies, we further identify 886 galaxies hosting unique signatures inconsistent with standard ionization by H ii regions, active galactic nuclei, or shocks. These galaxies span a wide range of masses and morphological types and comprise a sizable portion of the galaxies used in our sample. With our revised method, we show that emission-line diagnostics alone do not adequately differentiate the multiple ways to ionize gas within a galaxy.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace90eWarm ionized mediumClassification systemsGalaxy classification systemsActive galactic nucleiShocksStar formation |
| spellingShingle | Victor D. Johnston Anne M. Medling Brent Groves Lisa J. Kewley Luca Cortese Scott Croom Ángel R. López-Sánchez Henry Zovaro Joss Bland-Hawthorn Julia Bryant Jon Lawrence Matt Owers Samuel Richards Jesse van de Sande Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey The Astrophysical Journal Warm ionized medium Classification systems Galaxy classification systems Active galactic nuclei Shocks Star formation |
| title | Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey |
| title_full | Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey |
| title_fullStr | Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey |
| title_short | Beyond BPT: A New Multidimensional Diagnostic Diagram for Classifying Power Sources Tested Using the SAMI Galaxy Survey |
| title_sort | beyond bpt a new multidimensional diagnostic diagram for classifying power sources tested using the sami galaxy survey |
| topic | Warm ionized medium Classification systems Galaxy classification systems Active galactic nuclei Shocks Star formation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ace90e |
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