SDSS-IV MaNGA: The Roles of AGNs and Dynamical Processes in Star Formation Quenching in Nearby Disk Galaxies

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We study how star formation (SF) is quenched in low-redshift disk galaxies with integral-field spectroscopy. We select 131 face-on spiral galaxies with stellar mass greater than 3 × 1010 M ⊙, and with spatially resolved spectrum from MaNGA DR13. We subdivide the sample into four groups based on the offset of their global specific star formation rate (SFR) from the star-forming main sequence and stack the radial profiles of stellar mass and SFR. By comparing the stacked profiles of quiescent and star-forming disk galaxies, we find that the decrease of the global SFR is caused by the suppression of SF at all radii, but with a more significant drop from the center to the outer regions following an inside-out pattern. As the global specific SFR decreases, the central stellar mass, the fraction of disk galaxies hosting stellar bars, and active galactic nuclei (AGNs; including both LINERs and Seyferts) all increase, indicating dynamical processes and AGN feedback are possible contributors to the inside-out quenching of SF in the local universe. However, if we include only Seyferts, or AGNs with EW(Hα) > 3 Å, the increasing trend of AGN fraction with decreasing global sSFR disappears. Therefore, if AGN feedback is contributing to quenching, we suspect that it operates in the low-luminosity AGN mode, as indicated by the increasing large bulge mass of the more passive disk galaxies.

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Associated Persons
Kexin Guo (Creator)Yingjie Peng (Creator); Li Shao (Creator); Hai Fu (Creator); Feng Yuan (Creator); Renbin Yan (Creator); Chengpeng Zhang (Creator); Jing Dou (Creator)