UNDERSTANDING DUAL ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS ACTIVATION IN THE NEARBY UNIVERSE

We study the fraction of dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in a sample of 167 nearby (z < 0.05), moderate-luminosity, ultra-hard X-ray-selected AGNs from the all-sky Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) survey. Combining new Chandra and Gemini observations together with optical and X-ray observations, we find that the dual AGN frequency at scales <100 kpc is ∼10% (16/167). Of the 16 dual AGNs, only 3 (19%) were detected using X-ray spectroscopy and were not detected using emission line diagnostics. Close dual AGNs (<30 kpc) tend to be more common among the most X-ray luminous systems. In dual AGNs, the X-ray luminosity of both AGNs increases strongly with decreasing galaxy separation, suggesting that the merging event is key in powering both AGNs. Fifty percent of the AGNs with a very close companion (<15 kpc) are dual AGNs. We also find that dual AGNs are more likely to occur in major mergers and tend to avoid absorption line galaxies with elliptical morphologies. Finally, we find that SDSS Seyferts are much less likely than BAT AGNs (0.25% versus 7.8%) to be found in dual AGNs at scales <30 kpc because of a smaller number of companion galaxies, fiber collision limits, a tendency for AGNs at small separations to be detected only in X-rays, and a higher fraction of dual AGN companions with increasing AGN luminosity.