Decomposition of the Host Galaxies of Active Galactic Nuclei Using Hubble Space Telescope Images

Understand

Investigating the link between supermassive black hole and galaxy evolution requires careful measurements of the properties of the host galaxies.

• We perform simulations to test the reliability of a two-dimensional image-fitting technique to decompose the host galaxy and the active galactic nucleus (AGN), especially on images obtained using cameras onboard the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), such as the Wide-Field Planetary Camera 2, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, and the Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer.
• We quantify the relative importance of spatial, temporal, and color variations of the point-spread function (PSF).
• To estimate uncertainties in AGN-to-host decompositions, we perform extensive simulations that span a wide range in AGN-to-host galaxy luminosity contrast, signal-to-noise ratio, and host galaxy properties (size, luminosity, central concentration).