Related papers: ASTRO-H White Paper - AGN Reflection
It is widely known that in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs), there is a tight correlation among their radio luminosity ($L_R$), X-ray luminosity ($L_X$) and BH mass ($\mbh$), the so-called `fundamental…
The unified model of active galactic nuclei (AGN) claims that the properties of AGN depend on the viewing angle of the observer with respect to a toroidal distribution of dust surrounding the nucleus. Both the mid-infrared (MIR) attenuation…
(Abridged) Cold and warm absorbers have beeen detected in all types of active galaxies (AGN) from low to high redshift. This gas, located in the black hole region of AGN, is thought to play an important role in AGN unification scenarios, in…
Long X-ray observations of bright Active Galactic Nuclei show that X-ray eclipses, with durations from a few hours to a few days, are rather common. This opens up a new window of opportunity in the search for signatures of relativistic…
The origin of outflow in narrow-line region (NLR) of active galactic nucleus (AGN) is studied in this paper by focusing on the relationship between the [\ion{O}{3}]$\lambda$5007 line profile and the hard X-ray (in a bandpass of 2-10 keV)…
The integrated emission of highly obscured AGN is expected to provide a major contribution to the X-ray energy density in the Universe: the X-ray background (XRB). The study of these objects is possible only at energies where the effects of…
Several AGN and black hole X-ray binaries show a clear very broad iron line which is strong evidence that the black holes are rapidly spinning. Detailed analysis of these objects shows that the emission line is not significantly affected by…
We have newly identified a substantial number of type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGN) featuring weak broad-line regions (BLRs) at z < 0.2 from detailed analysis of galaxy spectra in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. These objects…
Hard X-ray ($\geq 10$ keV) observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) can shed light on some of the most obscured episodes of accretion onto supermassive black holes. The 70-month Swift/BAT all-sky survey, which probes the 14-195 keV…
Imaging X-ray spectroscopy of nearby AGNs, mostly with Chandra, has shown that extended soft (<2.5 keV) emission-line dominated X-ray biconical structures, of kiloparsec scale, are widespread in highly absorbed Compton Thick (CT) AGNs. The…
AGN are known to have complex X-ray spectra that depend on both the properties of the accreting SMBH (e.g. mass, accretion rate) and the distribution of obscuring material in its vicinity ("torus"). Often however, simple and even unphysical…
An integral part of the Unified Model for Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is an axisymmetric obscuring medium, which is commonly depicted as a torus of gas and dust surrounding the central engine. However, a robust, dynamical model of the…
Radiation, winds and jets from the active nucleus of a massive galaxy can interact with its interstellar medium leading to ejection or heating of the gas. This can terminate star formation in the galaxy and stifle accretion onto the black…
Deep X-ray surveys have shown that the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) is largely due to accretion onto supermassive black holes, integrated over cosmic time. However, the characteristic hard spectrum of the XRB can only be explained if most…
Current astrophysical research suggests that the most persistently luminous objects in the Universe are powered by the flow of matter through accretion disks onto black holes. Accretion disk systems are observed to emit copious radiation…
The supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and stellar-mass black holes in X-ray binaries (XRBs) are believed to work in a similar way. While XRBs evolve rapidly and several sources have undergone a few complete cycles…
Over the last few years X-ray observations of broad-line radio galaxies (BLRGs) by ASCA, RXTE and BeppoSAX have shown that these objects seem to exhibit weaker X-ray reflection features (such as the iron K\alpha line) than radio-quiet…
We present X-ray and multiwavelength studies of a sample of eight high-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with disc-like H\beta emission-line profiles selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. These sources have…
Over the last few years, the existence of mutual feedback effects between accreting supermassive black holes powering AGN and star formation in their host galaxies has become evident. This means that the formation and the evolution of AGN…
X-ray spectra of AGN are complex. X-ray absorption and emission features trace gas covering a wide range of column densities and ionization states. High resolution spectra show the absorbing gas to be outflowing, perhaps in the form of an…