Revisiting Active Galactic Nucleus Placement on the Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich Diagram: A Spectral Decomposition Approach

Abstract Traditional single-fiber spectroscopy provides a single galaxy spectrum, forming the basis for crucial parameter estimation. However, its accuracy can be compromised by various sources of contamination, such as the prominent H α emission line originating from both star-forming (SF) regions and non-star-forming (NonSF) regions, including active galactic nuclei. The potential to dissect a spectrum into its SF and NonSF constituents holds the promise of significantly enhancing precision in parameter estimates. In contrast, integral field unit (IFU) surveys present a solution to minimize contamination. These surveys examine spatially localized regions within galaxies, reducing the impact of mixed sources. Although an IFU survey’s resulting spectrum covers a smaller region of a galaxy than single-fiber spectroscopy, it can still encompass a blend of heterogeneous sources. Our study introduces an innovative model informed by insights from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory IFU survey. This model enables the decomposition of galaxy spectra, including those from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, into SF and NonSF components. Applying our model to these survey data sets produces two distinct spectra, one for SF and another for NonSF components, while conserving flux across wavelength bins. When these decomposed spectra are visualized on a Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich (BPT) diagram, interesting patterns emerge. There is a significant shift in the placement of the NonSF decomposed spectra, as well as the emergence of two distinct clusters in the Low-ionization Nuclear Emission-line Region and the Seyfert region. This shift highlights the key role of SF “contamination” in influencing the positioning of NonSF spectra within the BPT diagram.