Herschel far-infrared photometry of the Swift Burst Alert Telescope active galactic nuclei sample of the local universe - III. Global star-forming properties and the lack of a connection to nuclear activity

Abstract

We combine the Herschel Space Observatory PACS (Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer) and SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver) photometry with archival WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) photometry to construct the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for over 300 local (z < 0.05), ultrahard X-ray (14–195 keV) selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) 58-month catalogue. Using a simple analytical model that combines an exponentially cutoff power law with a single temperature modified blackbody, we decompose the SEDs into a host galaxy and AGN component. We calculate dust masses, dust temperatures, and star formation rates (SFRs) for our entire sample and compare them to a stellar mass-matched sample of local non-AGN galaxies. We find AGN host galaxies have systematically higher dust masses, dust temperatures, and SFRs due to the higher prevalence of late-type galaxies to host an AGN, in agreement with previous studies of the Swift/BAT AGN. We provide a scaling to convert X-ray luminosities into 8–1000 μm AGN luminosities, as well as determine the best mid-to-far IR colours for identifying AGN-dominated galaxies in the IR regime. We find that for nearly 30 per cent of our sample, the 70 μm emission contains a significant contribution from the AGN (>0.5), especially at higher luminosities (L14−195 keV > 1042.5 erg s−1). Finally, we measure the local SFR–AGN luminosity relationship, finding a slope of 0.18, large scatter (0.37 dex), and no evidence for an upturn at high AGN luminosity. We conclude with a discussion on the implications of our results within the context of galaxy evolution with and without AGN feedback.