Barred Galaxies in MaNGA: Stellar Mass Dependence and Black Hole Growth

Abstract This study investigates the role of internal structures, such as stellar bars and active galactic nuclei (AGN), in shaping galaxy evolution using 7408 galaxies (2641 barred) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory survey. Our analysis spans a wide stellar mass range, from dwarf to massive galaxies, examining how internal and environmental processes regulate galaxy evolution. Galaxies are categorized by morphology (ellipticals, E; lenticulars, S0s; early-type spirals, ETS; and late-type spirals, LTS), environment, and the presence of a bar. We find that barred galaxies have a higher median specific star formation rate (sSFR) than unbarred galaxies across most stellar mass intervals. This difference varies with host morphology, with LTS and S0 galaxies showing different trends across stellar mass intervals. The environmental trends of barred and unbarred galaxies are broadly similar within the same mass intervals. In AGN hosts, barred Seyferts tend to lie near the star-forming–green valley boundary, while barred LINERs preferentially occupy the green valley. We further examine the relation between stellar bars and black hole mass and find that barred galaxies host systematically lower black hole masses than unbarred galaxies, with environmental effects appearing to play a secondary role in shaping these differences. A multivariate regression analysis also shows that the positive bar–sSFR association remains statistically significant for star-forming galaxies after accounting for stellar mass, local density, AGN, and morphology. Our results highlight the interconnected roles of stellar bars, stellar mass, morphology, and environment in shaping galaxy star formation, providing new insights into the role of stellar bars in galaxy evolution.