{"paper":{"title":"The Hunt for Red Dual AGNs I: Spatially-Resolved Mid-IR Dual AGNs in the DeCam Legacy Survey","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","headline":"Mid-infrared colors select 13 confirmed dual AGNs in galaxy mergers at separations of 14.5 to 129 kiloparsecs.","cross_cats":[],"primary_cat":"astro-ph.GA","authors_text":"Barry Rothberg, Daniel Stern, Emily Moravec, Emma Schwartzman, Jenna M. Cann, Joanna Piotrowska, Kelly Whalen, Kevin McCarthy, Kimberly A. Weaver, Kimberly Engle, Kyla Mullaney, Miranda McCarthy, Nathan J. Secrest, Peter G. Boorman, Ryan Tanner, Ryan W. Pfeifle","submitted_at":"2026-05-13T18:00:00Z","abstract_excerpt":"Theoretical studies predict that dual AGNs are a critical stage of galaxy merger-driven supermassive black hole growth. Systematic searches for dual AGNs typically target late-stage mergers ($\\leq10$ kpc nuclear separations) and select AGNs based on optical diagnostics. Yet, simulations predict that obscuration can occur early in the merger sequence, and that a significant fraction of dual AGNs can be found beyond $10$ kpc. Here, we report on a new sample of 157 spatially resolved mid-IR dual AGNs candidates selected based upon their mid-IR $W1-W2$ colors from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Ex"},"claims":{"count":4,"items":[{"kind":"strongest_claim","text":"Here, we report on a new sample of 157 spatially resolved mid-IR dual AGNs candidates selected based upon their mid-IR W1-W2 colors from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer and optically classified as galaxy merger candidates using imaging from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey. Spectroscopic results confirm 13 bona fide mid-IR dual AGNs with separations 14.5-129 kpc.","source":"verdict.strongest_claim","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C1","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"weakest_assumption","text":"That mid-IR W1-W2 color selection reliably isolates AGNs without substantial contamination from star formation or other sources in merging systems, and that visual or morphological classification from DeCam imaging accurately identifies true galaxy mergers rather than projections.","source":"verdict.weakest_assumption","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C2","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"one_line_summary","text":"A new sample of 157 mid-IR dual AGN candidates in mergers yields 13 confirmed cases and 63 strong candidates at separations 14.5-129 kpc, over half beyond 50 kpc, with diverse BPT classes and 31% in multi-mergers.","source":"verdict.one_line_summary","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C3","attestation":"unclaimed"},{"kind":"headline","text":"Mid-infrared colors select 13 confirmed dual AGNs in galaxy mergers at separations of 14.5 to 129 kiloparsecs.","source":"verdict.pith_extraction.headline","status":"machine_extracted","claim_id":"C4","attestation":"unclaimed"}],"snapshot_sha256":"2ae6f73cc34ee0abeeacaaeea00a19c3236ac07ed7fc1f58d8f88fde61c18083"},"source":{"id":"2605.13946","kind":"arxiv","version":1},"verdict":{"id":"0cbfc463-c460-42f6-82b1-fbd532e3e1d7","model_set":{"reader":"grok-4.3"},"created_at":"2026-05-15T02:46:04.230410Z","strongest_claim":"Here, we report on a new sample of 157 spatially resolved mid-IR dual AGNs candidates selected based upon their mid-IR W1-W2 colors from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer and optically classified as galaxy merger candidates using imaging from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey. Spectroscopic results confirm 13 bona fide mid-IR dual AGNs with separations 14.5-129 kpc.","one_line_summary":"A new sample of 157 mid-IR dual AGN candidates in mergers yields 13 confirmed cases and 63 strong candidates at separations 14.5-129 kpc, over half beyond 50 kpc, with diverse BPT classes and 31% in multi-mergers.","pipeline_version":"pith-pipeline@v0.9.0","weakest_assumption":"That mid-IR W1-W2 color selection reliably isolates AGNs without substantial contamination from star formation or other sources in merging systems, and that visual or morphological classification from DeCam imaging accurately identifies true galaxy mergers rather than projections.","pith_extraction_headline":"Mid-infrared colors select 13 confirmed dual AGNs in galaxy mergers at separations of 14.5 to 129 kiloparsecs."},"references":{"count":114,"sample":[{"doi":"10.1088/0067-0049/182/2/543","year":2009,"title":"Abazajian, K. N., Adelman-McCarthy, J. K., Ag¨ ueros, M. A., et al. 2009, ApJS, 182, 543, doi: 10.1088/0067-0049/182/2/543","work_id":"a2b8de51-d046-42bd-ab8a-a181bcd0ef82","ref_index":1,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"10.3847/2041-8213/acdac6","year":2041,"title":"The Astrophysical Journal Letters , author =","work_id":"c4e36d40-1bdc-46a1-8190-df81b311338c","ref_index":2,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"10.3847/1538-4365/ab929e","year":2020,"title":"A., Almeida , A., et al","work_id":"ccf01265-1391-4620-ba31-7803e222071e","ref_index":3,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"10.3847/0004-6256/151/2/24","year":2016,"title":"L., Wu, X.-B., Yang, J., et al","work_id":"56d08d1a-6c56-4372-ba4e-6e7b47e46002","ref_index":4,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false},{"doi":"10.1088/0067-0049/193/2/29","year":2011,"title":"age \" ] = (3. , 15.) # Time since SF began : Gyr 4delayed [","work_id":"bb0a57ee-7644-4f9b-9a0e-d6431d68b6b8","ref_index":5,"cited_arxiv_id":"","is_internal_anchor":false}],"resolved_work":114,"snapshot_sha256":"e6c3f1c1d717b46687d68b8a1e833c8e7fdf7a2a8f981add4f87d07e8fcb549f","internal_anchors":5},"formal_canon":{"evidence_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"author_claims":{"count":0,"strong_count":0,"snapshot_sha256":"258153158e38e3291e3d48162225fcdb2d5a3ed65a07baac614ab91432fd4f57"},"builder_version":"pith-number-builder-2026-05-17-v1"}