A. Del Moro, D. M. Alexander, J. R. Mullaney, E. Daddi, F. E. Bauer, A. Pope
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4 pages, 3 figures. Proceedings of the conference "X-ray Astronomy: towards the next 50 years!", Milan, 1-5 Oct 2012. To appear in Memorie della Societa' Astronomica Italiana
Current X-ray surveys have proved to be essential tools in order to identify and study AGNs across cosmic time. However, there is evidence that the most heavily obscured AGNs are largely missing even in the deepest surveys. The search for these obscured AGNs is one of the most outstanding issues of extragalactic astronomy, since they are expected to make a major contribution to the high energy peak of the X-ray background (XRB) and might constitute a particularly active and dusty phase of black hole and galaxy evolution. Using a newly developed SED fitting technique to decompose the AGN from the star-formation emission in the infrared band we identify a sample of 17 IR bright quasars at z=1-3. For the majority of these sources the X-ray spectrum is well characterised by an absorbed power law model, revealing that ~25% of the sources are unabsorbed; the remainder of these IR quasars have moderate-to-high absorption (N_H>10^23 cm^-2), and ~25% are not detected in the X-rays and are likely to be Compton thick (N_H>10^24 cm^-2). We therefore find a much higher fraction of obscured than unobscured quasars, indicating that a large fraction of the luminous black hole accretion was very heavily obscured at z~2.
Microlensing is a powerful technique which can be used to study the continuum and the broad line emitting regions in distant AGNs. After a brief description of the methods and required data, we present recent applications of this technique. We show that microlensing allows one to measure the temperature profile of the accretion disc, estimate the size and study the geometry of the region emitting the broad emission lines.
Observational constraints on the average radial distribution profile of AGN in distant galaxy clusters can provide important clues on the triggering mechanisms of AGN activity in dense environments and are essential for a completeness evaluation of cluster selection techniques in the X-ray and mm-wavebands. The aim of this work is a statistical study with XMM-Newton of the presence and distribution of X-ray AGN in the large-scale structure environments of 22 X-ray luminous galaxy clusters in the redshift range 0.9 < z \lesssim 1.6 compiled by the XMM-Newton Distant Cluster Project (XDCP). To t…
We examine atmospheric heating by radio active galactic nuclei (AGN) in distant X-ray clusters by cross correlating clusters selected from the 400 Square Degree (400SD) X-ray Cluster survey with radio sources in the NRAO VLA Sky Survey. Roughly 30% of the clusters show radio emission above a flux threshold of 3 mJy within a projected radius of 250 kpc. The radio emission is presumably associated with the brightest cluster galaxy. The mechanical jet power for each radio source was determined using scaling relations between radio power and cavity (mechanical) power determined for nearby clusters…
We present here a new spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting approach that we adopt to select radio-excess sources amongst distant star-forming galaxies in the GOODS-Herschel (North) field and to reveal the presence of hidden, highly obscured AGN. Through extensive SED analysis of 458 galaxies with radio 1.4 GHz and mid-IR 24 um detections using some of the deepest Chandra X-ray, Spitzer and Herschel infrared, and VLA radio data available to date, we have robustly identified a sample of 51 radio-excess AGN (~1300 deg^-2) out to redshift z~3. These radio-excess AGN have a significantly lowe…
(Abridged) We investigate the far-infrared properties of X-ray sources detected in the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) survey using the ultra-deep 70um and 24um Spitzer observations taken in this field. We rely on stacking analyses of the 70um data to characterise the average 70um properties of the X-ray sources. Using Spitzer-IRS data of the Swift-BAT sample of z~0 active galactic nuclei (hereafter, AGNs), we show that the 70um/24um flux ratio can distinguish between AGN-dominated and starburst-dominated systems out to z~1.5. From stacking analysis we find that both high redshift and z~0 AGN…
The Baldwin, Phillips, and Terlevich emission-line ratio diagnostic ([OIII]/Hβ versus [NII]/Hα, hereafter BPT diagram) efficiently separates galaxies whose signal is dominated by star formation <BPT-SF> from those dominated by AGN activity (BPT-AGN). Yet this BPT diagram is limited to z < 0.5, the redshift at which [NII]λ6584 leaves the optical spectral window. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we construct a new diagnostic, or TBT diagram, that is based on rest-frame g-z color, [NeIII]λ3869, and [OII]λλ3726 + 3729 and can be used for galaxies out to z < 1.4. The TBT diagram identifie…
We report the discovery of a luminous, mini radio halo of ~240 kpc dimension at the center of a distant cluster of galaxies at redshift z = 0.131. Our optical and multi-wavelength GMRT and VLA observations reveal a highly unusual structure showing a twin bubble-like diffuse radio halo surrounding a cluster of bright elliptical galaxies; very similar to the large-scale radio structure of M87, the dominant galaxy in Virgo cluster. It presents an excellent opportunity to understand the energetics and the dynamical evolution of such radio jet inflated plasma bubbles in the hot cluster atmosphere.
We are conducting a large survey of distant clusters of galaxies using radio sources with bent jets and lobes as tracers. These radio sources are driven by AGN and achieve their bent morphologies through interaction with the surrounding gas found in clusters of galaxies. Based on low-redshift studies, these types of sources can be used to identify clusters very efficiently. We present initial results from our survey of 653 bent-double radio sources with optical hosts too faint to appear in the SDSS. The sample was observed in the infrared with Spitzer, and it has revealed $\sim$200 distant clu…
We use deep follow-up XMM-Newton observations of 6 clusters discovered in the XXL Survey at $z>1$ to gain robust measurements of their X-ray properties and to investigate the extent to which scaling relations at low redshift are valid at $z>1$. This sample is unique as it has been investigated for AGN contamination, which ensures measurements are not undermined by systematic uncertainties, and pushes to lower mass at higher redshift than is usually possible, for example with Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) selected clusters. We determine the flux contribution of point sources to the XXL cluster flux i…
We review results from cosmic X-ray surveys of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) over the past ~ 15 yr that have dramatically improved our understanding of growing supermassive black holes in the distant universe. First, we discuss the utility of such surveys for AGN investigations and the capabilities of the missions making these surveys, emphasizing Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR. Second, we briefly describe the main cosmic X-ray surveys, the essential roles of complementary multiwavelength data, and how AGNs are selected from these surveys. We then review key results from these surveys on the …
In this study we investigate the relationship between the star formation rate, SFR, and AGN luminosity, L(AGN), for ~2000 X-ray detected AGN. The AGN span over three orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity (10^(42) < L(2-8keV) < 10^(45.5) erg/s) and are in the redshift range z = 0.2 - 2.5. Using infrared (IR) photometry (8 - 500um), including deblended Spitzer and Herschel images and taking into account photometric upper limits, we decompose the IR spectral energy distributions into AGN and star formation components. Using the IR luminosities due to star formation, we investigate the average S…
We investigate the possibility of using the ratio between the 2-10 keV flux and the [Ne V]3426 emission line flux (X/NeV) as a diagnostic diagram to discover heavily obscured, possibly Compton-Thick Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) up to z~1.5. First, we calibrate a relation between X/NeV and the cold absorbing column density N_H using a sample of 74 bright, nearby Seyferts with both X-ray and [Ne V] data available in the literature. Similarly to what is found for the X-ray to [O III]5007 flux ratio (X/OIII), we found that the X/NeV ratio decreases towards large column densities. Essentially all l…
The Cosmic X-ray background carries the information of cosmic accretion onto super-massive black holes. The intensity at its peak can be used to constrain the integrated space density of highly obscured AGNs. Determining the shape and intensity of the Cosmic X-ray background radiation represents, however, a first step towards the understanding of the population of Comptonthick AGNs. The study of AGNs in the local and more distant Universe allows to understand the whole picture. In this talk, I will review the current understanding of generation of the Cosmic X-ray background at its peak. I wil…
The recent detection of blazar 3C279 by MAGIC has confirmed previous indications by H.E.S.S. that the Universe is more transparent to very-high-energy gamma rays than previously thought. We show that this fact can be reconciled with standard blazar emission models provided photon oscillations into a veri light Axion-Like Particle occur in extragalactic magnetic fields. A quantitative estimate of this effect explains the observed spectrum of 3C279. Our prediction can be tested in the near future by the satellite-borne GLAST detector as well as by the ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov T…
The Chandra Deep Fields (CDFs), being a major thrust among extragalactic X-ray surveys and complemented effectively by multiwavelength observations, have critically contributed to our dramatically improved characterization of the 0.5-8 keV cosmic X-ray background sources, the vast majority of which are distant active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and starburst and normal galaxies. In this review, I highlight some recent key observational results, mostly from the CDFs, on the AGN demography, the interactions between AGNs and their host galaxies, the evolution of non-active galaxy X-ray emission, and t…
It is well established that a dominant phase in the growth of massive galaxies occurred at high redshift and was heavily obscured by gas and dust. Many studies have explored the stellar growth of massive galaxies but few have combined these constraints with the growth of the supermassive black hole (SMBH; i.e., identified as AGN activity). In this brief contribution we highlight our work aimed at identifying AGNs in z~2 luminous dust-obscured galaxies. Using both sensitive X-ray and infrared (IR)-submillimeter (submm) observations, we show that AGN activity is common in z~2 dust-obscured syste…
We present a study of the distribution of X-ray detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the five most massive, $M_{500}^{SZ}>10^{14} M_{\odot}$ , and distant, z$\sim$1, galaxy clusters in the \textit{Planck} and South Pole Telescope (SPT)\textit{} surveys. The spatial and thermodynamic individual properties of each cluster have been defined with unprecedented accuracy at this redshift using deep X-ray observations. This is an essential property of our sample in order to precisely determine the $R_{500}^{Y_{\textrm x}}$ radius of the clusters. For our purposes, we computed the X-ray point-like…
We present ~103 ks of Chandra observations of the galaxy cluster SPT-CLJ0528-5300 (SPT0528, z=0.768). This cluster harbors the most radio-loud (L_1.4GHz = 1.01 x 10^33 erg/s/Hz) central AGN of any cluster in the South Pole Telescope (SPT) SZ survey with available X-ray data. We find evidence of AGN-inflated cavities in the X-ray emission, which are consistent with the orientation of the jet direction revealed by ATCA radio data. The combined probability that two such depressions -- each at ~1.4-1.8sigma significance, oriented ~180 degrees apart and aligned with the jet axis -- would occur by c…
We investigate the fraction of starbursts, starburst-AGN composites, Seyferts, and LINERs as a function of infrared luminosity (L_IR) and merger progress for ~500 infrared-selected galaxies. Using the new optical classifications afforded by the extremely large data set of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we find that the fraction of LINERs in IR-selected samples is rare (< 5%) compared with other spectral types. The lack of strong infrared emission in LINERs is consistent with recent optical studies suggesting that LINERs contain AGN with lower accretion rates than in Seyfert galaxies. Most previ…
Based on its broad-band spectral energy distribution, and the X-ray spectrum in particular, the radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) SDSS J102623.61+254259.5 (J1026+2542) has recently been classified as a blazar. The extremely high redshift of the source, z=5.3, makes it one of the most distant and most luminous radio-loud AGN known to date. From published 5-GHz very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging data obtained in 2006, the source has a typical blazar appearance on mas scales, with a prominent one-sided jet extending to ~20 mas. We estimate the brightness temperature of J1026+…
We analyze a sample of 30,000 nearby obscured AGNs with optical spectra from SDSS and mid-IR photometry from WISE. Our aim is to investigate the AGN host galaxy properties with mid-IR luminosities as AGN activity indicator, and to compare with previous studies based on [OIII] emission lines. First we find that the [3.4] - [4.6] colour has weak dependence on host stellar age, but strong dependence on AGN activity. We then use a "pair-matching" technique to subtract the host 4.6 micron contribution. By combining Seyferts with a sample of SDSS quasars at z < 0.7, we show that the [OIII] and the i…
We present an X-ray spectral and temporal analysis of the variable active galaxy NGC 6814, observed with Suzaku during November 2011. Remarkably, the X-ray spectrum shows no evidence for the soft excess commonly observed amongst other active galaxies, despite its relatively low level of obscuration, and is dominated across the whole Suzaku bandpass by the intrinsic powerlaw-like continuum. Despite this, we clearly detect the presence of a low frequency hard lag of ~1600s between the 0.5-2.0 and 2.0-5.0 keV energy bands at greater than 6-sigma significance, similar to those reported in the lite…
We study the AGN-host co-evolution issue here by focusing on the correlation between the hard X-ray emission from central AGNs and the stellar populations of the host galaxies. By focusing on the galaxies with strong H$α$ line emission (EW(H$α)>5$Å), both X-ray and optical spectral analysis are performed on 67 (partially) obscured AGNs that are selected from the \it XMM-Newton\rm\ 2XMMi/SDSS-DR7 catalog originally cross-matched by Pineau et al. The sample allows us to study central AGN activity and host galaxy directly and simultaneously in individual objects. Combining the spectral analysis i…
Dust is commonly present in weakly radio emitting star-forming galaxies and this dust may obscure the signatures of accreting black holes in these objects. We aim to uncover weak active galactic nuclei, AGN, in the faint radio source population by means of deep high-resolution radio observations. VLBI observations with a world-wide array at unparallelled sensitivity are carried out to assess the nature of the faint radio source population in the Hubble Deep Field North and its flanking fields. Images of twelve compact, AGN-driven radio sources are presented. These represent roughly one quarter…
Based on large optical and mid-infrared (IR) surveys, we investigate the relation between nuclear activity in local Seyfert 2 galaxies and galaxy interactions using a statistical neighbour counting technique. At the same level of host galaxy star formation (SF), we find that active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with stronger [OIII] emission lines do not show an excess of near neighbours, while AGNs with stronger mid-IR emission do have more near neighbours within a projected distance of 100 kpc. The excess neighbour count increases with decreasing projected radius. These results suggest a phase of to…
In the framework of a systematic ALMA study of IR-selected main-sequence and starburst galaxies at z~1-1.7 at typical ~1" resolution, we report on the effects of mid-IR- and X-ray-detected active galactic nuclei (AGN) on the reservoirs and excitation of molecular gas in a sample of 55 objects. We find detectable nuclear activity in ~30% of the sample. The presence of dusty tori influences the IR SED of galaxies, as highlighted by the strong correlation among the AGN contribution to the total IR luminosity budget (fAGN = LIR,AGN/LIR), its hard X-ray emission, and the Rayleigh-Jeans to mid-IR (S…
We present selected results on the X-ray spectroscopy of distant, obscured AGN as obtained with the ultra-deep (~3 Ms) XMM-Newton survey in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S). One of the primary goals of the project is to characterize the X-ray spectral properties of heavily obscured and Compton-thick AGN over the range of redshifts and luminosities that are relevant in terms of their contribution to the X-ray background. The ultra-deep exposure, coupled with the XMM detector's spectral throughput, allowed us to accumulate X-ray spectra for more than 100 AGN to investigate the absorption dis…
We use the largest, most uniform, and most spectroscopically complete to faint X-ray flux limits Chandra sample to date to construct hard 2-8 keV rest-frame X-ray luminosity functions (HXLFs) of spectroscopically identified active galactic nuclei (AGNs) to z~5. In addition, we use a new 2-8 keV local sample selected by the very hard (14-195 keV) SWIFT 9-month Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) survey to construct the local 2-8 keV HXLF. We do maximum likelihood fits of the combined distant plus local sample (as well as of the distant sample alone) over the redshift intervals 0<z<1.2, 0<z<3, and 0<z<5…
We show that the most distant X-ray detected cluster known to date, ClJ1001 at z=2.506, hosts a strong overdensity of radio sources. Six of them are individually detected (within 10") in deep 0.75" resolution VLA 3GHz imaging, with S(3GHz)>8uJy. Of the six, AGN likely affects the radio emission in two galaxies while star formation is the dominant source powering the remaining four. We searched for cluster candidates over the full COSMOS 2-square degree field using radio-detected 3GHz sources and looking for peaks in Sigma5 density maps. ClJ1001 is the strongest overdensity by far with >10sigma…
We study the effects of radio jets on galaxies in their vicinity (satellites) and the role of satellites in triggering radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The study compares the aggregate properties of satellites of a sample of 7,220 radio AGNs at z < 0.3 (identified by Best & Heckman 2012 from the SDSS and NVSS+FIRST surveys) to the satellites of a control sample of radio-quiet galaxies, which are matched in redshift, color, luminosity, and axis ratio, as well as by environment type: field galaxies, cluster members and brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). Remarkably, we find that radio AG…
The total set of the 14 active galactic nuclei detected by MAGIC so far includes well-studied bright blazars like Mkn 501, the giant radio galaxy M 87, but also the distant flat-spectrum radio quasar 3C 279, and an intriguing gamma-ray source in the 3C 66A/B region, whose energy spectrum is not compatible with the expectations from 3C 66A. Besides scheduled observations, so far MAGIC succeeded in discovering TeV gamma rays from three blazars following triggers from high optical states. I report selected highlights from recent MAGIC observations of extragalactic TeV gamma-ray sources, emphasizi…
Lyman break analogues (LBAs) are local galaxies selected to match a more distant (usually z~3) galaxy population in luminosity, UV-spectral slope and physical characteristics, and so provide an accessible laboratory for exploring their properties. However, as the Lyman break technique is extended to higher redshifts, it has become clear that the Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at z~3 are more massive, luminous, redder, more extended and at higher metallicities than their z~5 counterparts. Thus extrapolations from the existing LBA samples (which match z=3 properties) have limited value for characte…
We present the results of a new analysis of the X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) population in the vicinity of 135 of the most massive galaxy clusters in the redshift range of 0.2 < z < 0.9 observed with Chandra. With a sample of more than 11,000 X-ray point sources, we are able to measure, for the first time, evidence for evolution in the cluster AGN population beyond the expected evolution of field AGN. Our analysis shows that overall number density of cluster AGN scales with the cluster mass as $\sim M_{500}^{-1.2}$. There is no evidence for the overall number density of cluster …
Context. The XMM-XXL survey uses observations from XMM-Newton to detect clusters of galaxies over a wide range in mass and redshift. The moderate PSF of XMM-Newton means that point sources within or projected onto a cluster may not be separated from the cluster emission, leading to enhanced luminosities and affecting the selection function of the cluster survey. Aims. We present the results of short Chandra observations of 21 galaxy clusters and cluster candidates at redshifts z $>$ 1 detected in the XMM-XXL survey in X-rays or selected in the optical and infra-red. Methods. With the superior …
We present results from a survey of 70 radio galaxies (RGs) at redshifts 1<z<5.2 using the PACS and SPIRE on-board Herschel. Combined with existing mid-IR photometry from Spitzer and observations obtained with LABOCA, the SEDs of galaxies in our sample are continuously covered across 3.6-870um. The total infrared luminosities of these RGs are such that they almost all are either ultra-or hyper-luminous infrared galaxies. We fit the infrared SEDs with a set of empirical templates which represent dust heated (1) by a variety of SB and (2) by a AGN. We find that the SEDs of RGs require the dust t…
We summarize what large surveys of the contemporary universe have taught us about the physics and phenomenology of the processes that link the formation and evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes. We present a picture in which the population of AGN can be divided into two distinct populations. The Radiative-Mode AGN are associated with black holes that produce radiant energy powered by accretion at rates in excess of ~1% of the Eddington Limit. They are primarily associated with less massive black holes growing in high-density pseudo-bulges at a rate sufficient to pro…
