The AGN-Bar Connection

We investigate the relation between the presence of bars in galaxies and AGN activities. Bars are believed to play an important role in fueling of AGN. Although there have been many previous studies on this topic, "the AGN-Bar Connection" is still an open question. To better understand the connection, we use a volume-limited sample of 9,726 late-type galaxies brighter than $M_r$=-19.5+5logh at $0.02{\leqq}z{\leqq}0.05489$, drawn from SDSS DR7. Among galaxies in the sample, 1,963 galaxies are classified as AGN-host galaxies based on the emission-line ratios while barred galaxies are identified by visual inspection. The bar fraction in AGN host galaxies (22.5%) is 3-times higher than in star-forming galaxies (8.6%). However, this trend is simply caused by the fact that the bar fraction increases with galaxy mass or luminosity and that AGN host galaxies are on average more massive than star-forming galaxies. Nevertheless, we find that among AGN host galaxies, the bar fraction increases with the Eddington ratio $(L_{[OIII]}/M_{[BH]})$, and this trend remains intact even at fixed galaxy luminosity and stellar velocity dispersion. These results imply that bars play a role in triggering AGNs.