Introducing Δ V ⋆ − g: a new universal kinematic disturbance parameter

Journal article

We introduce a new kinematic disturbance parameter, (pronounced ‘DVSG’), which takes advantage of integral field spectroscopy (IFS) to quantify differences between a galaxy’s stellar and gas velocity maps. The motivation behind is to capture disturbances in the kinematics of a galaxy that might be missed by alternative methods, while also attempting to minimize bias towards galaxy properties or features of the IFS data. We first detail the reasons for introducing this parameter and explain how the value of a galaxy can be calculated. We then present initial results using to quantify the kinematic disturbance of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) found in the MaNGA (Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory) survey. We find that there is no statistically significant difference between the distributions of AGN and a control sample (matched in mass and redshift) of inactive galaxies. This suggests that AGN triggering may not be preferentially caused by any distinct kinematic disturbance process, or combination of processes, beyond those observed in inactive galaxies.

Authors: Powley, JM; Smethurst, RJ; Lintott, CJ; Géron, T

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Volume: 548
• Issue: 3
• Article number: stag747
• Publication date: 2026-04-20
• Acceptance date: 2026-04-13
• DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stag747
• EISSN: 1365-2966
• ISSN: 0035-8711
• Language: English
• Keywords: galaxies: active; galaxies: kinematics and dynamics; galaxies: evolution