Related papers: Obscured accreting black holes at high redshift
We have been carrying out a successful observational programme targeted at finding the highly obscured quasars that are thought to be the main contributors to the hard X-ray background. Out of 56 sources so far studied with optical and…
We explore a detailed model in which the active galactic nucleus (AGN) obscuration results from the extinction of AGN radiation in a global flow driven by the pressure of infrared radiation on dust grains. We assume that external…
Using self-consistent, physically motivated models, we investigate the X-ray obscuration in 19 Type 2 [OIII] 5007 \AA\ selected AGN, 9 of which are local Seyfert 2 galaxies and 10 of which are Type 2 quasar candidates. We derive reliable…
Hard X-ray, large area surveys are a fundamental complement of ultra-deep, pencil beam surveys in obtaining a more complete coverage of the L-z plane, allowing to find luminous QSO in wide z ranges. Furthermore, results from these surveys…
Mergers of galaxies are thought to cause significant gas inflows to the inner parsecs, which can activate rapid accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs), giving rise to Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). During a significant fraction of…
The relativistic broad iron lines seen in the X-ray spectra of several active galaxies and Galactic black hole systems are reviewed. Most such objects require emission from within the innermost stable orbit of a non-rotating black hole,…
We search for high-redshift (z>4.5) X-ray AGNs in the deep central (off-axis angle <5.7') region of the 7 Ms Chandra Deep Field-South X-ray image. We compile an initial candidate sample from direct X-ray detections. We then probe more…
Mid-infrared spectroscopic measurements from the Infrared Spectrometer on Spitzer (IRS) are given for 125 hard X-ray AGN (14-195 keV) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope sample and for 32 AGN with black hole masses from reverberation…
Active Galactic Nuclei are powered by accretion onto massive black holes. Although radio-quiet objects are not as spectacular sources of very high energy photons as radio-loud ones this class of objects also represents a challenge for…
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…
We report a new sample of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the XMM serendipitous source and AKARI point-source catalogs. We match X-ray sources with infrared (18 and 90 micron) sources located at |b|>10 deg to create a…
We present early results from the spectroscopic follow-up of a sample of candidate obscured AGN selected in the mid-infrared from the Spitzer First Look Survey. Our selection allows a direct comparison of the numbers of obscured and…
The detection of gravitationally redshifted optical emission lines has been reported just for a few active galaxies. In this paper we give a short overview of studies that analyzed or exploited the detection of the gravitational redshift in…
While it is understood that the origin of the Cosmic X-ray Background (CXRB) can be explained in terms of a combination of obscured and unobscured AGN, the identity of these obscured AGN showing up in large numbers at faint fluxes remains…
A significant number of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are observed to be hidden behind dust and gas. The distribution of material around AGNs plays an important role in modeling the cosmic X-ray background (CXB), especially the fraction of…
We present short \chandra observations of twelve bright (i<18) z_em~1.5 quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey chosen to have significantly redder optical colors than most quasars at the same redshift. Of the five quasars with optical…
Obscuration in quasars may arise from steep viewing angles along the dusty torus, or instead may represent a distinct phase of supermassive black hole growth. We test these scenarios by probing the host dark matter halo environments of…
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…
Hard X-ray observations are the most efficient way to discriminate accretion-powered sources from star-light. Furthermore, hard X-rays are less affected than other bands by obscuration. For these reasons the advent of imaging instruments…
Although General Relativity had provided the physical basis of black holes, evidence for their existence had to await the Space Era when X-ray observations first directed the attention of astronomers to the unusual binary stars Cygnus X-1…