X-ray spectra of XMM-Newton serendipitous medium flux sources

We report on the results of a detailed analysis of the X-ray spectral properties of a large sample of sources detected serendipitously with the XMM-Newton observatory in 25 selected fields, for which optical identification is in progress. The survey covers a total solid angle of ~3.5 deg[superscript 2] and contains 1137 sources with ~10[superscript -15] 10[superscript 43] erg s[superscript -1], and therefore classified as type 2 AGNs) is significantly higher (40%), with a hint of moderately higher columns. After correcting for absorption, we do not find evidence for a redshift evolution of the underlying power law index of BLAGNs, which stays roughly constant at Γ ~ 1.9, with intrinsic dispersion of 0.4. A small fraction (~7%) of BLAGNs and NELGs require the presence of a soft excess, that we model as a black body with temperature ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 keV. Comparing our results on absorption to popular X-ray background synthesis models, we find absorption in only ~40% of the sources expected. This is due to a deficiency of heavily absorbed sources (with N[subscript H] ~ 10[superscript 22] – 10[superscript 24] cm[superscript -2]) in our sample in comparison with the models. We therefore conclude that the synthesis models require some revision in their specific parameters

Survival of the Obscuring Torus in the Most Powerful Active Galactic Nuclei

Dedicated searches generally find a decreasing fraction of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) with increasing AGN luminosity. This has often been interpreted as evidence for a decrease of the covering factor of the AGN torus with increasing luminosity, the so-called receding torus models. Using a complete flux-limited X-ray selected sample of 199 AGN, from the Bright Ultra-hard XMM-Newton Survey, we determine the intrinsic fraction of optical type-2 AGN at 0.05 <= z <= 1 as a function of rest-frame 2–10 keV X-ray luminosity from 10^42 to 10^45 erg s^-1. We use the distributions of covering factors of AGN tori derived from CLUMPY torus models. Since these distributions combined over the total AGN population need to match the intrinsic type-2 AGN fraction, we reveal a population of X-ray undetected objects with high-covering factor tori, which are increasingly numerous at higher AGN luminosities. When these "missing" objects are included, we find that Compton-thick AGN account at most for 37(+9)(-10)% of the total population. The intrinsic type-2 AGN fraction is 58 ± 4% and has a weak, non-significant (less than 2σ) luminosity dependence. This contradicts the results generally reported by AGN surveys and the expectations from receding torus models. Our findings imply that the majority of luminous rapidly accreting supermassive black holes at z <=1 reside in highly obscured nuclear environments, but most of them are so deeply embedded that they have so far escaped detection in X-rays in <10 keV wide area surveys

Exploring the active galactic nuclei population with extreme X-ray-to-optical flux ratios (f(x)/f(o) > 50)

The cosmic history of the growth of supermassive black holes in galactic centres parallels that of star formation in the Universe. However, an important fraction of this growth occurs inconspicuously in obscured objects, where ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared emission is heavily obscured by dust. Since the X-ray flux is less attenuated, a high X-ray-to-optical flux ratio (f[Subscript: x]/f[Subscript: o]) is expected to be an efficient tool to find out these obscured accreting sources. We explore here via optical spectroscopy, X-ray spectroscopy and infrared photometry the most extreme cases of this population (those with f[Subscript: x]/f[Subscript: o] > 50, EXO50 sources hereafter), using a well-defined sample of seven X-ray sources extracted from the 2XMM catalogue. Five EXO50 sources (∼70 per cent of the sample) in the bright flux regime explored by our survey (f[Subscript: (2−10 keV)] ≥ 1.5 × 10[Superscript: −13] erg cm[Superscript: −2] s[Superscript: −1]) are associated with obscured AGN (NH > 1022 cm[Superscript: −2]), spanning a redshift range between 0.75 and 1 and characterized by 2–10 keV intrinsic luminosities in the QSO regime (e.g. well in excess to 10[Superscript: 44] erg s[Superscript: −1]). We did not find compelling evidence of Compton thick active galacic nuclei (AGN). Overall, the EXO50 type 2 QSOs do not seem to be different from standard X-ray-selected type 2 QSOs in terms of nuclear absorption; a very high AGN/host galaxy ratio seems to play a major role in explaining their extreme properties. Interestingly, three out of five EXO50 type 2 QSO objects can be classified as extreme dust-obscured galaxies (EDOGs, f[Subscript: 24 μm]/f[Subscript: R] ≥ 2000), suggesting that a very high AGN/host ratios (along with the large amount of dust absorption) could be the natural explanation also for a part of the EDOG population. The remaining two EXO50 sources are classified as BL Lac objects, having rather extreme properties, and which are good candidates for TeV emission

The cosmological properties of AGN in the XMM-Newton Hard Bright Survey

Aims. We investigate here the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of absorbed ($N_{\rm H}$ between 4 $\times$ 1021 and 1024 cm-2) and unabsorbed ($N_{\rm H}$ 1024 cm-2) AGN. Methods. To carry out this investigation, we have used the XMM-Newton Hard Bright Serendipitous Sample (HBSS), a complete sample of bright X-ray sources ($f_{\rm x}$ \ga 7 $\times$ 10-14 erg cm-2 s-1) at high galactic latitude (|b| > 20°) selected in the 4.5-7.5 keV energy band. The HBSS sample is now almost completely identified (97% spectroscopic identifications) and it can be safely used for a statistical investigation. The HBSS contains 62 AGN out of which 40 are unabsorbed (or marginally absorbed; $N_{\rm H}$ < 4 $\times$ 1021 cm-2) and 22 are absorbed ($N_{\rm H}$ between 4 $\times$ 1021 and ~1024 cm-2). Results. Absorbed and unabsorbed AGN are characterised by two different XLF with the absorbed AGN population being described by a steeper XLF, if compared with the unabsorbed ones, at all luminosities. The intrinsic fraction F of absorbed AGN (i.e., the fraction of sources with $N_{\rm H}$ between 4 $\times$ 1021 and 1024 cm-2 divided the sources with $N_{\rm H}$ below 1024 cm-2, corrected for the bias due to the photoelectric absorption) with $L_{2{-}10~{\rm keV}}$ \ga 3 $\times$ 1042 erg s-1 is 0.57 $\pm$ 0.11; we find that F decreases with the intrinsic luminosity, and probably, increases with the redshift. Our data are consistent with a flat Log $N_{\rm H}$ distribution for $N_{\rm H}$ between 1020 and 1024 cm-2. Finally, by comparing the results obtained here with those obtained using an optically-selected sample of AGN we derive, in an indirect way, the XLF of Compton thick AGN; the latter is well described by a XLF similar, in shape, to that of absorbed AGN, but having a normalization of about a factor of 2 above. The density ratio between Compton thick AGN ($N_{\rm H}$ $\geq$ 1024 cm-2) and Compton thin AGN ($N_{\rm H}$ $\leq$ 1024 cm-2) decreases from 1.08 $\pm$ 0.44 at ~1043 erg s-1 to 0.57 $\pm$ 0.22 at ~1044 erg s-1 to 0.23 $\pm$ 0.15 at ~1045 erg s-1. Conclusions. The results presented here on the anti-correlation between F and $-L_{\rm x}$ are fully consistent with the hypothesis of a reduction of the covering factor of the gas as a function of the luminosity and are clearly inconsistent with the simplest unified scheme of AGN. These results strongly support the recently proposed radiation-limited clumpy dust torus model although alternative physical models are also consistent with the observations

Searching for absorbed AGN in the 2XMM-Newton pre-release EPIC Serendipitous Source Catalogue

Aims.We aim to test a method of efficiently selecting X-ray obscured AGN in the 2XMM-Newton EPIC Serendipitous Source Catalogue. Methods.By means of a strong correlation established using the XMM-Newton Hard Bright Sample between the intrinsic absorption and the hardness ratio to the 0.5-2.0 keV and 2.0-4.5 keV bands, an efficient way of selecting absorbed sources has been worked out. A hardness ratio selection based on the 2XMM-Newton pre-release Source Catalogue led us to the definition of candidates likely to be obscured in X-rays. Results.X-ray and optical spectral analysis were performed for three objects. Strong absorption ($N_{\rm H} > 10^{22}$ cm-2) was detected from the X-ray analysis, confirming the efficiency of the method used to select obscured sources. The presence of absorption is also revealed in the optical band, although at a significantly lower level than inferred from the X-ray band

X-RAY ABSORPTION, NUCLEAR INFRARED EMISSION, AND DUST COVERING FACTORS OF AGNs: TESTING UNIFICATION SCHEMES

We present the distributions of the geometrical covering factors of the dusty tori (f2) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using an X-ray selected complete sample of 227 AGNs drawn from the Bright Ultra-hard XMM-Newton Survey. The AGNs have z from 0.05 to 1.7, 2–10 keV luminosities between 1042 and 1046 erg s−1, and Compton-thin X-ray absorption. Employing data from UKIDSS, 2MASS, and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer in a previous work, we determined the rest-frame 1–20 μm continuum emission from the torus, which we model here with the clumpy torus models of Nenkova et al. Optically classified type 1 and type 2 AGNs are intrinsically different, with type 2 AGNs having, on average, tori with higher f2 than type 1 AGNs. Nevertheless, ~20% of type 1 AGNs have tori with large covering factors, while ~23%–28% of type 2 AGNs have tori with small covering factors. Low f2 are preferred at high AGN luminosities, as postulated by simple receding torus models, although for type 2 AGNs the effect is certainly small. f2 increases with the X-ray column density, which implies that dust extinction and X-ray absorption take place in material that share an overall geometry and most likely belong to the same structure, the putative torus. Based on our results, the viewing angle, AGN luminosity, and also f2 determine the optical appearance of an AGN and control the shape of the rest-frame ~1–20 μm nuclear continuum emission. Thus, the torus geometrical covering factor is a key ingredient of unification schemes

An X-ray bright ERO hosting a type 2 QSO

We present the XMM-Newton and the optical-VLT spectra along with the optical and the near-infrared photometric data of one of the brightest X-ray ( $F_{2{-}10~\rm keV}\sim10^{-13}$ erg s-1 cm-2) extremely red objects ($R-K\ge5$) discovered so far. The source, XBS J0216-0435, belongs to the XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey and it has extreme X-ray-to-optical (~220) and X-ray-to-near-infrared (~60) flux ratios. Thanks to its brightness, the X-ray statistics are good enough for an accurate spectral analysis by which the presence of an X-ray obscured ( $N_{\rm H}>10^{22}$ cm-2) QSO ( $L_{2{-}10~\rm keV}=4\times10^{45}$ erg s-1) is determined. A statistically significant (~99%) excess around 2 keV in the observed-frame suggests the presence of an emission line. By assuming that this feature corresponds to the iron K$\alpha$ line at 6.4 keV, a first estimate of the redshift of the source is derived ( $z_{\rm X}\sim2$). The presence of a high redshift QSO2 has been finally confirmed through dedicated VLT optical spectroscopic observations ( $z_{\rm O}=1.985\pm0.002$). This result yields to an optical validation of a new X-ray Line Emitting Object (XLEO) for which the redshift has been firstly derived from the X-ray data. XBS J0216-0435 can be considered one of the few examples of X-ray obscured QSO2 at high redshift for which a detailed X-ray and optical spectral analysis has been possible. The spectral energy distribution from radio to X-rays is also presented. Finally from the near-infrared data the luminosity and the stellar mass of the host galaxy has been estimated finding a new example of the coexistence at high-z between massive galaxies and powerful QSOs

The XMM-Newton bright serendipitous survey - Identification and optical spectral properties

Aims.We present the optical classification and redshift of 348 X-ray selected sources from the XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey (XBS), which contains a total of 400 objects (identification level = 87%). About 240 are new identifications. In particular, we discuss in detail the classification criteria adopted for the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) population. Methods.By means of systematic spectroscopic campaigns using various telescopes and through the literature search, we have collected an optical spectrum for the large majority of the sources in the XBS survey and applied a well-defined classification "flow chart". Results.We find that the AGNs represent the most numerous population at the flux limit of the XBS survey (~10-13 erg cm-2 s-1) constituting 80% of the XBS sources selected in the 0.5-4.5 keV energy band and 95% of the "hard" (4.5-7.5 keV) selected objects. Galactic sources populate the 0.5-4.5 keV sample significantly (17%) and only marginally (3%) the 4.5-7.5 keV sample. The remaining sources in both samples are clusters/groups of galaxies and normal galaxies (i.e. probably not powered by an AGN). Furthermore, the percentage of type 2 AGNs (i.e. optically absorbed AGNs with $A_{\rm V}>2$ mag) dramatically increases going from the 0.5-4.5 keV sample ( $f=N_{\rm AGN 2}/N_{\rm AGN}=7$%) to the 4.5-7.5 keV sample (f=32%). We finally propose two simple diagnostic plots that can be easily used to obtain the spectral classification for relatively low-redshift AGNs even if the quality of the spectrum is not good

The XMM-Newton Wide Angle Survey (XWAS)

Aims. This programme is aimed at obtaining one of the largest X-ray selected samples of identified active galactic nuclei to date in order to characterise such a population at intermediate fluxes, where most of the Universe’s accretion power originates. We present the XMM-Newton Wide Angle Survey (XWAS), a new catalogue of almost a thousand X-ray sources spectroscopically identified through optical observations. Methods. A sample of X-ray sources detected in 68 XMM-Newton pointed observations was selected for optical multi-fibre spectroscopy. Optical counterparts and corresponding photometry of the X-ray sources were obtained from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey. Candidates for spectroscopy were initially selected with magnitudes down to R ∼ 21, with preference for X-ray sources having a flux F0.5−4.5 keV ≥ 10−14 erg s−1 cm−2. Optical spectroscopic observations were made using the Two Degree Field of the Anglo Australian Telescope, and the resulting spectra were classified based on optical emission lines. Results. We have identified through optical spectroscopy 940 X-ray sources over Ω ∼ 11.8 deg2 of the sky. Source populations in our sample can be summarised as 65% broad line active galactic nuclei (BLAGN), 16% narrow emission line galaxies (NELGs), 6% absorption line galaxies (ALGs) and 13% stars. An active nucleus is also likely to be present in the large majority of the X-ray sources spectroscopically classified as NELGs or ALGs. Sources lie in high-galactic latitude (|b| > 20 deg) XMM-Newton fields mainly in the southern hemisphere. Owing to the large parameter space in redshift (0 ≤ z ≤ 4.25) and flux (10−15 ≤ F0.5−4.5 keV ≤ 10−12 erg s−1 cm−2) covered by the XWAS this work provides an excellent resource for the further study of subsamples and particular cases. The overall properties of the extragalactic objects are presented in this paper. These include the redshift and luminosity distributions, optical and X-ray colours and X-ray-to-optical flux ratios