Related papers: AGN Unification: An Update
We will briefly examine the following three issues related to the AGN synthesis models for X-ray background: 1) the possibility that absorbed AGNs evolve faster than unabsorbed ones; 2) the existence of the still debated population of…
This review describes recent developments related to the unified model of active galactic nuclei (AGN). It focuses on new ideas about the origin and properties of the central obscurer (torus), and the connection with its surrounding. The…
We analysed the optical and infrared properties of X-ray sources in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), a deep multiwavelength survey covering 0.1 square degrees in two fields. The HST ACS data are well explained by a…
Recent Chandra and XMM-Newton surveys have uncovered a large fraction of the obscured AGN responsible of the hard X-ray background. One of the most intriguing results of extensive programs of follow-up observations concerns the optical and…
We present a multi wavelength analysis of 28 of the most luminous low-redshift narrow-line, ultra-hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) drawn from the 70 month Swift/BAT all-sky survey, with bolometric luminosities of…
Combining information on absorbing material in AGN from X-ray and the UV creates a powerful investigative tool. Here we give examples from both low and high redshift.
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…
The current paradigm for radio-quiet AGNs is reviewed, taking into account new results from recent large-scale surveys carried out from the ground and from space. Topics include structure of the central engine, AGN demography,…
Combined investigations of the clustering properties of galaxies of different spectral type and high-redshift quasars strongly suggest local ellipticals to be the parent population of optically bright Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). However,…
Our goal is to probe the populations of obscured and unobscured AGN investigating their optical-IR and X-ray properties as a function of X-ray flux, luminosity and redshift within a hard X-ray selected sample of 136 X-ray sources in the XMM…
I review the constraints that X-ray observations impose on the physical properties and the geometrical distribution of cold absorbing gas in nearby obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), as well as their implications for AGN structure…
We study the incidence of nuclear obscuration on a complete sample of 1310 AGN selected on the basis of their rest-frame 2-10 keV X-ray flux from the XMM-COSMOS survey, in the redshift range 0.3<z<3.5. We classify the AGN as obscured or…
We use a sample of active galaxies from the Cosmic Evolution Survey to show that host galaxy morphology is tied to the accretion rate and X-ray obscuration of its active galactic nucleus (AGN). Unobscured and rapidly accreting broad-line…
More than one third of all nearby galaxies show indications of low-luminosity nuclear activity. These low-luminosity AGNs (LLAGNs) are traditionally classified into a variety of categories depending on their forbidden-line ratios and on the…
The fraction of AGN luminosity obscured by dust and re-emitted in the mid-IR is critical for understanding AGN evolution, unification, and parsec-scale AGN physics. For unobscured (Type-1) AGN, where we have a direct view of the accretion…
The standard AGN unification models attempt to explain the diversity of observed AGN types by a few fundamental parameters, where orientation effects play a paramount role. Whether other factors, such as the evolutionary stage and the host…
At low Eddington ratio (mdot), two effects make it harder to detect AGN given some selection criteria. First, even with fixed accretion physics, AGN are diluted/less luminous relative to their hosts; the magnitude of this depends on host…
A prediction of the classic active galactic nuclei (AGN) unification model is the presence of ionisation cones with different orientations depending on the AGN type. Confirmations of this model exist for present times, but it is less clear…
The synthesis model for the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) -based on the integrated emission of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs)- is complemented with new observational results. We adopt the most recent estimates of the AGN X-ray luminosity…
The idea that substantial absorption in AGN could be a definite characteristic of the early phases of QSO evolution was invoked to explain the submillimeter observations of X-ray absorbed AGN at z~1 to z~3, that have shown strong emission…