Related papers: The obscured quasar population from optical, mid-i…
The growth of active galactic nuclei (AGN) occurs under some form of obscuration in a large fraction of the population. The difficulty in constraining this population leads to high uncertainties in cosmic X-ray background and galaxy…
We present a small sample of Chandra X-ray sources selected from the fields of ACIS observations which probe fluxes around the break in the hard band source counts. The targets of these fields include 9 nearby galaxy clusters, 1 distant…
We present the 4MOST IR AGN survey, the first large-scale optical spectroscopic survey characterizing mid-infrared (MIR) selected obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN). The survey targets $\approx 212,000$ obscured infrared (IR) AGN…
Type II quasars are luminous Active Galactic Nuclei whose centers are obscured by large amounts of gas and dust. In this paper we present 3-band HST images of nine type II quasars with redshifts 0.2 < z < 0.4 selected from the Sloan Digital…
A complete census of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) is a prerequisite for understanding the growth of supermassive black holes across cosmic time. A significant challenge toward this goal is the whereabouts of heavily obscured AGN that remain…
Recent works have suggested that selection criteria based on MIR colors can be used to reveal a population of dust-enshrouded, extremely luminous quasars at z>1. However the X-ray spectral properties of these intriguing sources still remain…
The most heavily-obscured, luminous quasars might represent a specific phase of the evolution of actively accreting supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, possibly related to mergers. We investigated a sample of the most luminous…
Using mid-infrared and radio criteria, we select a sample of candidate z~2 obscured quasars. Optical spectroscopy confirms about half of these as type-2 quasars, and modelling the population suggests 50-80% of the quasars are obscured. We…
The estimate of the number and space density of obscured AGN over cosmic time still represents an open issue. While the obscured AGN population is a key ingredient of the X-ray background synthesis models and is needed to reproduce its…
Type 2 quasars are luminous active galactic nuclei (AGN) whose central regions are obscured by large amounts of gas and dust. In this paper, we present a catalog of type 2 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), selected based on…
A significant fraction of the accreting black holes powering high redshift AGN are obscured by large columns of dust and gas. For this reason, luminous type 2 quasars can be efficiently discovered combining hard X-ray and near-infrared…
Many X-ray bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) are predicted to follow an extended stage of obscured black hole growth. In support of this picture we examine the X-ray undetected AGNs in the COSMOS field and compare their host galaxies with…
Hundreds of Type 2 quasars have been identified in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data, and there is substantial evidence that they are generally galaxies with highly obscured central engines, in accord with unified models for active…
We present the results of an optical spectroscopic survey of 46 heavily obscured quasar candidates. Objects are selected using their mid-infrared (mid-IR) colours and magnitudes from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and their…
(abridged)The majority of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) suffer from significant obscuration by surrounding dust and gas. X-ray surveys in the 2-10 keV band will miss the most heavily-obscured AGN in which the absorbing column density exceeds…
Our current understanding of the evolution of obscured accretion onto supermassive black holes is reviewed. We consider the literature results on the relation between the fraction of moderately obscured, Compton-thin AGN and redshift, and…
I present an overview of observational studies of quasars of all types, with particular emphasis on X-ray observational studies. The presentation is based on the most popularly accepted unified picture of quasars - collectively referred to…
From the earliest extragalactic infrared studies AGN have shown themselves to be strong infrared sources and IR surveys have revealed new populations of AGN. I briefly review current motivations for AGN surveys in the infrared and results…
Statistical studies of X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) indicate that the fraction of obscured AGN increases with increasing redshift, and the results suggest that a significant part of the accretion growth occurs behind…
The results of spectropolarimetry surveys of obscured AGNs are reviewed, paying special attention to their implications for the existence of two populations of type 2 Seyfert galaxies -- hidden Seyfert 1s and "true" Seyfert 2s. In this…