Description
We present and discuss optical imaging of 76 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that represent the selected Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) sample for z<0.3, from a full list of 243. They are found to have dust-obscured nuclei, residing in host galaxies that show a high fraction (greater than 70%) of tidal interactions. The derived luminosities of the AGNs and host galaxies are similar to traditionally selected AGNs, and they may comprise some 40% of the total AGN population at low redshift. We have measured a number of host galaxy properties and discuss their distributions and interrelations. We compare the 2MASS AGNs with optically selected samples and the IRAS-selected galaxy samples and discuss the differences in terms of merger processes and initial conditions.
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