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arXiv · 1209.4193

The high-redshift (z>3) AGN population in the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field South

F. Vito·C. Vignali·R. Gilli·A. Comastri·K. Iwasawa·W. N. Brandt·D. M. Alexander·M. Brusa·B. Lehmer·F. E. Bauer·D. P. Schneider·Y. Q. Xue·B. Luo
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Abstract

We present results from a spectral analysis of a sample of high-redshift (z>3) X-ray selected AGN in the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S), the deepest X-ray survey to date. The sample is selected using the most recent spectroscopic and photometric information available in this field. It consists of 34 sources with median redshift z=3.7, 80 median net counts in the 0.5-7 keV band and median rest-frame absorption-corrected luminosity $L_{2-10 \rmn{keV}}\approx1.5\times10^{44}\rmn{erg} \rmn{s^{-1}}$. Spectral analysis for the full sample is presented and the intrinsic column density distribution, corrected for observational biases using spectral simulations, is compared with the expectations of X-ray background (XRB) synthesis models. We find that $\approx57$ per cent of the sources are highly obscured ($N_H>10^{23}\rmn{cm^{-2}}$). Source number counts in the $0.5-2\rmn{keV}$ band down to flux $F_{0.5-2 \rmn{keV}}\approx4\times10^{-17}\rmn{erg} \rmn{s^{-1}cm^{-2}}$ are also presented. Our results are consistent with a decline of the AGN space density at z>3 and suggest that, at those redshifts, the AGN obscured fraction is in agreement with the expectations of XRB synthesis models.

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F. Vito, C. Vignali, R. Gilli, A. Comastri, K. Iwasawa, W. N. Brandt, D. M. Alexander, M. Brusa, B. Lehmer, F. E. Bauer, D. P. Schneider, Y. Q. Xue, B. Luo. 2012-10-26. The high-redshift (z>3) AGN population in the 4 Ms Chandra Deep Field South. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fsts034

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