arXiv subjects

E. Treister

Publications and source records attributed to E. Treister.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2015

The NuSTAR Extragalactic Surveys: First Direct Measurements of the >10 keV X-Ray Luminosity Function for Active Galactic Nuclei at z>0.1

We present the first direct measurements of the rest-frame 10-40 keV X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) based on a sample of 94 sources at 0.1 < z <3, selected at 8-24 keV energies from sources in the NuSTAR extragalactic survey program. Our results are consistent with the strong evolution of the AGN population seen in prior, lower-energy studies of the XLF. However, different models of the intrinsic distribution of absorption, which are used to correct for selection biases, give significantly different predictions for the total number of sources in our sample, leading to small, systematic differences in our binned estimates of the XLF. Adopting a model with a lower intrinsic fraction of Compton-thick sources and a larger population of sources with column densities N_H ~ 10^{23-24} /cm2 or a model with stronger Compton reflection component (with a relative normalization of R ~ 2 at all luminosities) can bring extrapolations of the XLF from 2-10 keV into agreement with our NuSTAR sample. Ultimately, X-ray spectral analysis of the NuSTAR sources is required to break this degeneracy between the distribution of absorbing column densities and the strength of the Compton reflection component and thus refine our measurements of the XLF. Furthermore, the models that successfully describe the high-redshift population seen by NuSTAR tend to over-predict previous, high-energy measurements of the local XLF, indicating that there is evolution of the AGN population that is not fully captured by the current models.

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arXiv2015

A massive, distant proto-cluster at z=2.47 caught in a phase of rapid formation?

Numerical simulations of cosmological structure formation show that the Universe's most massive clusters, and the galaxies living in those clusters, assemble rapidly at early times (2.5 < z < 4). While more than twenty proto-clusters have been observed at z > 2 based on associations of 5-40 galaxies around rare sources, the observational evidence for rapid cluster formation is weak. Here we report observations of an asymmetric, filamentary structure at z = 2.47 containing seven starbursting, submillimeter-luminous galaxies and five additional AGN within a comoving volume of 15000 Mpc$^{3}$. As the expected lifetime of both the luminous AGN and starburst phase of a galaxy is ~100 Myr, we conclude that these sources were likely triggered in rapid succession by environmental factors, or, alternatively, the duration of these cosmologically rare phenomena is much longer than prior direct measurements suggest. The stellar mass already built up in the structure is $\sim10^{12}M_{\odot}$ and we estimate that the cluster mass will exceed that of the Coma supercluster at $z \sim 0$. The filamentary structure is in line with hierarchical growth simulations which predict that the peak of cluster activity occurs rapidly at z > 2.

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arXiv2015

The composite nature of Dust-Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) at z~2-3 in the COSMOS field: I. A Far-Infrared View

Dust-Obscured galaxies (DOGs) are bright 24 um-selected sources with extreme obscuration at optical wavelengths. They are typically characterized by a rising power-law continuum of hot dust (T_D ~ 200-1000K) in the near-IR indicating that their mid-IR luminosity is dominated by an an active galactic nucleus (AGN). DOGs with a fainter 24 um flux display a stellar bump in the near-IR and their mid-IR luminosity appears to be mainly powered by dusty star formation. Alternatively, it may be that the mid-IR emission arising from AGN activity is dominant but the torus is sufficiently opaque to make the near-IR emission from the AGN negligible with respect to the emission from the host component. In an effort to characterize the astrophysical nature of the processes responsible for the IR emission in DOGs, this paper exploits Herschel data (PACS + SPIRE) on a sample of 95 DOGs within the COSMOS field. We derive a wealth of far-IR properties (e.g., total IR luminosities; mid-to-far IR colors; dust temperatures and masses) based on SED fitting. Of particular interest are the 24 um-bright DOGs (F_24um > 1mJy). They present bluer far-IR/mid-IR colors than the rest of the sample, unveiling the potential presence of an AGN. The AGN contribution to the total 8-1000 um flux increases as a function of the rest-frame 8 um-luminosity irrespective of the redshift. This confirms that faint DOGs (L_8 um< 10^12 L_sun) are dominated by star-formation while brighter DOGs show a larger contribution from an AGN.

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arXiv2015

NuSTAR Reveals Extreme Absorption in z < 0.5 Type 2 Quasars

The intrinsic column density (NH) distribution of quasars is poorly known. At the high obscuration end of the quasar population and for redshifts z<1, the X-ray spectra can only be reliably characterized using broad-band measurements which extend to energies above 10 keV. Using the hard X-ray observatory NuSTAR, along with archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data, we study the broad-band X-ray spectra of nine optically selected (from the SDSS), candidate Compton-thick (NH > 1.5e24 cm^-2) type 2 quasars (CTQSO2s); five new NuSTAR observations are reported herein, and four have been previously published. The candidate CTQSO2s lie at z<0.5, have observed [OIII] luminosities in the range 8.4 < log (L_[OIII]/L_solar) < 9.6, and show evidence for extreme, Compton-thick absorption when indirect absorption diagnostics are considered. Amongst the nine candidate CTQSO2s, five are detected by NuSTAR in the high energy (8-24 keV) band: two are weakly detected at the ~ 3 sigma confidence level and three are strongly detected with sufficient counts for spectral modeling (>~ 90 net source counts at 8-24 keV). For these NuSTAR-detected sources direct (i.e., X-ray spectral) constraints on the intrinsic AGN properties are feasible, and we measure column densities ~2.5-1600 times higher and intrinsic (unabsorbed) X-ray luminosities ~10-70 times higher than pre-NuSTAR constraints from Chandra and XMM-Newton. Assuming the NuSTAR-detected type 2 quasars are representative of other Compton-thick candidates, we make a correction to the NH distribution for optically selected type 2 quasars as measured by Chandra and XMM-Newton for 39 objects. With this approach, we predict a Compton-thick fraction of f_CT = 36^{+14}_{-12} %, although higher fractions (up to 76%) are possible if indirect absorption diagnostics are assumed to be reliable.

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arXiv2015

Rest-frame Optical Emission Lines in Far-Infrared Selected Galaxies at z<1.7 from the FMOS-COSMOS Survey

We have used FMOS on Subaru to obtain near-infrared spectroscopy of 123 far-infrared selected galaxies in COSMOS and obtain the key rest-frame optical emission lines. This is the largest sample of infrared galaxies with near-infrared spectroscopy at these redshifts. The far-infrared selection results in a sample of galaxies that are massive systems that span a range of metallicities in comparison with previous optically selected surveys, and thus has a higher AGN fraction and better samples the AGN branch. We establish the presence of AGN and starbursts in this sample of (U)LIRGs selected as Herschel-PACS and Spitzer-MIPS detections in two redshift bins (z~0.7 and z~1.5) and test the redshift dependence of diagnostics used to separate AGN from star-formation dominated galaxies. In addition, we construct a low redshift (z~0.1) comparison sample of infrared selected galaxies and find that the evolution from z~1.5 to today is consistent with an evolving AGN selection line and a range of ISM conditions and metallicities from the models of Kewley et al. (2013b). We find that a large fraction of (U)LIRGs are BPT-selected AGN using their new, redshift-dependent classification line. We compare the position of known X-ray detected AGN (67 in total) with the BPT selection and find that the new classification line accurately selects most of these objects (> 70%). Furthermore, we identify 35 new (likely obscured) AGN not selected as such by their X-ray emission. Our results have direct implications for AGN selection at higher redshift with either current (MOSFIRE, KMOS) or future (PFS, MOONS) spectroscopic efforts with near-infrared spectral coverage.

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arXiv2015

Broadband Observations of the Compton-thick Nucleus of NGC 3393

We present new NuSTAR and Chandra observations of NGC 3393, a galaxy reported to host the smallest separation dual AGN resolved in the X-rays. While past results suggested a 150 pc separation dual AGN, three times deeper Chandra imaging, combined with adaptive optics and radio imaging suggest a single, heavily obscured, radio-bright AGN. Using VLA and VLBA data, we find an AGN with a two-sided jet rather than a dual AGN and that the hard X-ray, UV, optical, NIR, and radio emission are all from a single point source with a radius <0.2". We find that the previously reported dual AGN is most likely a spurious detection resulting from the low number of X-ray counts (<160) at 6-7 keV and Gaussian smoothing of the data on scales much smaller than the PSF (0.25" vs. 0.80" FWHM). We show that statistical noise in a single Chandra PSF generates spurious dual peaks of the same separation (0.55$\pm$0.07" vs. 0.6") and flux ratio (39$\pm$9% vs. 32% of counts) as the purported dual AGN. With NuSTAR, we measure a Compton-thick source (NH=$2.2\pm0.4\times10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$) with a large torus half-opening angle, θ=79 which we postulate results from feedback from strong radio jets. This AGN shows a 2-10 keV intrinsic to observed flux ratio of 150. Using simulations, we find that even the deepest Chandra observations would severely underestimate the intrinsic luminosity of NGC 3393 above z>0.2, but would detect an unobscured AGN of this luminosity out to high redshift (z=5).

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arXiv2014

The 2-79 keV X-ray Spectrum of the Circinus Galaxy with NuSTAR, XMM-Newton and Chandra: a Fully Compton-Thick AGN

The Circinus galaxy is one of the nearest obscured AGN, making it an ideal target for detailed study. Combining archival Chandra and XMM-Newton data with new NuSTAR observations, we model the 2-79 keV spectrum to constrain the primary AGN continuum and to derive physical parameters for the obscuring material. Chandra's high angular resolution allows a separation of nuclear and off-nuclear galactic emission. In the off-nuclear diffuse emission we find signatures of strong cold reflection, including high equivalent-width neutral Fe lines. This Compton-scattered off-nuclear emission amounts to 18% of the nuclear flux in the Fe line region, but becomes comparable to the nuclear emission above 30 keV. The new analysis no longer supports a prominent transmitted AGN component in the observed band. We find that the nuclear spectrum is consistent with Compton-scattering by an optically-thick torus, where the intrinsic spectrum is a powerlaw of photon index $Γ= 2.2-2.4$, the torus has an equatorial column density of $N_{\rm H} = (6-10)\times10^{24}$cm$^{-2}$ and the intrinsic AGN $2-10$ keV luminosity is $(2.3-5.1)\times 10^{42}$ erg/s. These values place Circinus along the same relations as unobscured AGN in accretion rate-vs-$Γ$ and $L_X$-vs-$L_{IR}$ phase space. NuSTAR's high sensitivity and low background allow us to study the short time-scale variability of Circinus at X-ray energies above 10 keV for the first time. The lack of detected variability favors a Compton-thick absorber, in line with the the spectral fitting results.

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arXiv2014

NuSTAR J033202-2746.8: direct constraints on the Compton reflection in a heavily obscured quasar at z~2

We report NuSTAR observations of NuSTAR J033202-2746.8, a heavily obscured, radio-loud quasar detected in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South, the deepest layer of the NuSTAR extragalactic survey (~400 ks, at its deepest). NuSTAR J033202-2746.8 is reliably detected by NuSTAR only at E>8 keV and has a very flat spectral slope in the NuSTAR energy band (Gamma=0.55^{+0.62}_{-0.64}; 3-30 keV). Combining the NuSTAR data with extremely deep observations by Chandra and XMM-Newton (4 Ms and 3 Ms, respectively), we constrain the broad-band X-ray spectrum of NuSTAR J033202-2746.8, indicating that this source is a heavily obscured quasar (N_H=5.6^{+0.9}_{-0.8}x10^23 cm^-2) with luminosity L_{10-40 keV}~6.4x10^44 erg s^-1. Although existing optical and near-infrared (near-IR) data, as well as follow-up spectroscopy with the Keck and VLT telescopes, failed to provide a secure redshift identification for NuSTAR J033202-2746.8, we reliably constrain the redshift z=2.00+/-0.04 from the X-ray spectral features (primarily from the iron K edge). The NuSTAR spectrum shows a significant reflection component (R=0.55^{+0.44}_{-0.37}), which was not constrained by previous analyses of Chandra and XMM-Newton data alone. The measured reflection fraction is higher than the R~0 typically observed in bright radio-loud quasars such as NuSTAR J033202-2746.8, which has L_{1.4 GHz}~10^27 W Hz^-1. Constraining the spectral shape of AGN, including bright quasars, is very important for understanding the AGN population, and can have a strong impact on the modeling of the X-ray background. Our results show the importance of NuSTAR in investigating the broad-band spectral properties of quasars out to high redshift.

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arXiv2013

The incidence of obscuration in active galactic nuclei

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 un-obscured on the basis of either the optical spectral properties and the overall SED or the shape of the X-ray spectrum. The two classifications agree in about 70% of the objects, and the remaining 30% can be further subdivided into two distinct classes: at low luminosities X-ray un-obscured AGN do not always show signs of broad lines or blue/UV continuum emission in their optical spectra, most likely due to galaxy dilution effects; at high luminosities broad line AGN may have absorbed X-ray spectra, which hints at an increased incidence of small-scale (sub-parsec) dust-free obscuration. We confirm that the fraction of obscured AGN is a decreasing function of the intrinsic X-ray luminosity, while the incidence of absorption shows significant evolution only for the most luminous AGN, which appear to be more commonly obscured at higher redshift. We find no significant difference between the mean stellar masses and star formation rates of obscured and un-obscured AGN hosts. We conclude that the physical state of the medium responsible for obscuration in AGN is complex, and mainly determined by the radiation environment (nuclear luminosity) in a small region enclosed within the gravitational sphere of influence of the central black hole, but is largely insensitive to the wider scale galactic conditions.

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arXiv2013

New observational Constraints on the Growth of the First Supermassive Black Holes

We constrain the total accreted mass density in supermassive black holes at z>6, inferred via the upper limit derived from the integrated X-ray emission from a sample of photometrically selected galaxy candidates. Studying galaxies obtained from the deepest Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the Chandra 4 Msec observations of the Chandra Deep Field South, we achieve the most restrictive constraints on total black hole growth in the early Universe. We estimate an accreted mass density <1000Mo Mpc^-3 at z~6, significantly lower than the previous predictions from some existing models of early black hole growth and earlier prior observations. These results place interesting constraints on early black growth and mass assembly by accretion and imply one or more of the following: (1) only a fraction of the luminous galaxies at this epoch contain active black holes; (2) most black hole growth at early epochs happens in dusty and/or less massive - as yet undetected - host galaxies; (3) there is a significant fraction of low-z interlopers in the galaxy sample; (4) early black hole growth is radiatively inefficient, heavily obscured and/or is due to black hole mergers as opposed to accretion or (5) the bulk of the black hole growth occurs at late times. All of these possibilities have important implications for our understanding of high redshift seed formation models.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

The Obscured Fraction of AGN in the XMM-COSMOS Survey: A Spectral Energy Distribution Perspective

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 disk, the dust covering factor can be measured by computing the ratio of re-processed mid-IR emission to intrinsic nuclear bolometric luminosity. We use this technique to estimate the obscured AGN fraction as a function of luminosity and redshift for 513 Type-1 AGN from the XMM-COSMOS survey. The re-processed and intrinsic luminosities are computed by fitting the 18-band COSMOS photometry with a custom SED-fitting code, which jointly models emission from: hot-dust in the AGN torus, the accretion disk, and the host-galaxy. We find a relatively shallow decrease of the luminosity ratio as a function of Lbol, which we interpret as a corresponding decrease in the obscured fraction. In the context of the receding torus model, where dust sublimation reduces the covering factor of more luminous AGN, our measurements require a torus height which increases with luminosity as h ~ Lbol^{0.3-0.4}. Our obscured fraction-luminosity relation agrees with determinations from SDSS censuses of Type-1 and Type-2 quasars, and favors a torus optically thin to mid-IR radiation. We find a much weaker dependence of obscured fraction on 2-10 keV luminosity than previous determinations from X-ray surveys, and argue that X-ray surveys miss a significant population of highly obscured Compton-thick AGN. Our analysis shows no clear evidence for evolution of obscured fraction with redshift.

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arXiv2013

The NuSTAR Extragalactic Survey: A First Sensitive Look at the High-Energy Cosmic X-ray Background Population

We report on the first ten identifications of sources serendipitously detected by the NuSTAR to provide the first sensitive census of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB) source population at >10 keV. We find that these NuSTAR-detected sources are ~100x fainter than those previously detected at >10 keV and have a broad range in redshift and luminosity (z=0.020-2.923 and L_10-40 keV~4x10^{41}-5x10^{45} erg/s); the median redshift and luminosity are z~0.7 and L_10-40 keV~3x10^{44} erg/s, respectively. We characterize these sources on the basis of broad-band ~0.5-32 keV spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, and broad-band ultraviolet-to-mid-infrared SED analyzes. We find that the dominant source population is quasars with L_10-40 keV>10^{44} erg/s, of which ~50% are obscured with N_H>10^{22} cm^{-2}. However, none of the ten NuSTAR sources are Compton thick (N_H>10^{24} cm^{-2}) and we place a 90% confidence upper limit on the fraction of Compton-thick quasars (L_10-40 keV>10^{44} erg/s) selected at >10 keV of ~33% over the redshift range z=0.5-1.1. We jointly fitted the rest-frame ~10-40 keV data for all of the non-beamed sources with L_10-40 keV>10^{43} erg/s to constrain the average strength of reflection; we find R<1.4 for Γ=1.8, broadly consistent with that found for local AGNs observed at >10 keV. We also constrain the host galaxy masses and find a median stellar mass of ~10^{11} M_sun, a factor ~5 times higher than the median stellar mass of nearby high-energy selected AGNs, which may be at least partially driven by the order of magnitude higher X-ray luminosities of the NuSTAR sources. Within the low source-statistic limitations of our study, our results suggest that the overall properties of the NuSTAR sources are broadly similar to those of nearby high-energy selected AGNs but scaled up in luminosity and mass.

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arXiv2013

A statistical relation between the X-ray spectral index and Eddington ratio of active galactic nuclei in deep surveys

We present an investigation into how well the properties of the accretion flow onto a supermassive black hole may be coupled to those of the overlying hot corona. To do so, we specifically measure the characteristic spectral index, Gamma, of a power-law energy distribution, over an energy range of 2 to 10 keV, for X-ray selected, broad-lined radio-quiet AGN up to z~2 in COSMOS and E-CDF-S. We test the previously reported dependence between Gamma and black hole mass, FWHM and Eddington ratio using a sample of AGN covering a broad range in these parameters based on both the Mg ii and H-alpha emission lines with the later afforded by recent near infrared spectroscopic observations using Subaru/FMOS. We calculate the Eddington ratios, lambda_Edd, for sources where a bolometric luminosity (L_Bol) has been presented in the literature, based on SED fitting, or, for sources where these data do not exist, we calculate L_Bol using a bolometric correction to the LX, derived from a relationship between the bolometric correction, and LX/L3000. From a sample of 69 X-ray bright sources (>250 counts), where Gamma can be measured with greatest precision, with an estimate of L_Bol, we find a statistically significant correlation between Gamma and lambda_Edd, which is highly significant with a chance probability of 6.59x10^-8. A statistically significant correlation between Gamma and the FWHM of the optical lines is confirmed, but at lower significance than with lambda_Edd indicating that lambda_Edd is the key parameter driving conditions in the corona. Linear regression analysis reveals that Gamma=(0.32+/-0.05)log10 lambda_Edd+(2.27+/-0.06) and Gamma=(-0.69+/-0.11)log10(FWHM/km/s)+(4.44+/-0.42). Our results on Gamma-lambda_Edd are in very good agreement with previous results. (ABRIDGED)

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arXiv2012

Major Galaxy Mergers Only Trigger the Most Luminous AGN

Using multiwavelength surveys of active galactic nuclei across a wide range of bolometric luminosities (10^{43}<L_{bol}(erg/s<5x10^{46}) and redshifts (0<z<3), we find a strong, redshift-independent correlation between the AGN luminosity and the fraction of host galaxies undergoing a major merger. That is, only the most luminous AGN phases are connected to major mergers, while less luminous AGN appear to be driven by secular processes. Combining this trend with AGN luminosity functions to assess the overall cosmic growth of black holes, we find that ~50% by mass is associated with major mergers, while only 10% of AGN by number, the most luminous, are connected to these violent events. Our results suggest that to reach the highest AGN luminosities -where the most massive black holes accreted the bulk of their mass - a major merger appears to be required. The luminosity dependence of the fraction of AGN triggered by major mergers can successfully explain why the observed scatter in the M-σrelation for elliptical galaxies is significantly lower than in spirals. The lack of a significant redshift dependence of the L_{bol}-f_{merger} relation suggests that downsizing, i.e., the general decline in AGN and star formation activity with decreasing redshift, is driven by a decline in the frequency of major mergers combined with a decrease in the availability of gas at lower redshifts.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

The bolometric output and host-galaxy properties of obscured AGN in the XMM-COSMOS survey

We present a study of the multi-wavelength properties, from the mid-infrared to the hard X-rays, of a sample of 255 spectroscopically identified X-ray selected Type-2 AGN from the XMM-COSMOS survey. Most of them are obscured the X-ray absorbing column density is determined by either X-ray spectral analyses (for the 45% of the sample), or from hardness ratios. Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) are computed for all sources in the sample. The average SEDs in the optical band is dominated by the host-galaxy light, especially at low X-ray luminosities and redshifts. There is also a trend between X-ray and mid-infrared luminosity: the AGN contribution in the infrared is higher at higher X-ray luminosities. We calculate bolometric luminosities, bolometric corrections, stellar masses and star formation rates (SFRs) for these sources using a multi-component modeling to properly disentangle the emission associated to stellar light from that due to black hole accretion. For 90% of the sample we also have the morphological classifications obtained with an upgraded version of the Zurich Estimator of Structural Types (ZEST+). We find that on average Type-2 AGN have lower bolometric corrections than Type-1 AGN. Moreover, we confirm that the morphologies of AGN host-galaxies indicate that there is a preference for these Type-2 AGN to be hosted in bulge-dominated galaxies with stellar masses greater than 10^10 solar masses.

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arXiv2011

Lifting the Veil on Obscured Accretion: Active Galactic Nuclei Number Counts and Survey Strategies for Imaging Hard X-ray Missions

Finding and characterizing the population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that produces the X-ray background (XRB) is necessary to connect the history of accretion to observations of galaxy evolution at longer wavelengths. The year 2012 will see the deployment of the first hard X-ray imaging telescope that, through deep extragalactic surveys, will be able to measure the AGN population at the energies where the XRB peaks (~20-30 keV). Here, we present predictions of AGN number counts in three hard X-ray bandpasses: 6-10 keV, 10-30 keV and 30-60 keV. Separate predictions are presented for the number counts of Compton thick AGNs, the most heavily obscured active galaxies. The number counts are calculated for five different models of the XRB that differ in the assumed hard X-ray luminosity function, the evolution of the Compton thick AGNs, and the underlying AGN spectral model. The majority of the hard X-ray number counts will be Compton thin AGNs, but there is a >10x increase in the Compton thick number counts from the 6-10 keV to the 10-30 keV band. The Compton thick population show enough variation that a hard X-ray number counts measurement will constrain the models. The computed number counts are used to consider various survey strategies for the NuSTAR mission, assuming a total exposure time of 6.2 Ms. We find that multiple surveys will allow a measurement of Compton thick evolution. The predictions presented here should be useful for all future imaging hard X-ray missions.

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arXiv2011

Obscured GOODS AGN and Their Host Galaxies at z < 1.25: The Slow Black Hole Growth Phase

We compute black hole masses and bolometric luminosities for 87 obscured AGN in the redshift range 0.25 < z < 1.25, selected from the GOODS deep multi-wavelength survey fields via their X-ray emission. We fit the optical images and obtain morphological parameters for the host galaxy, separating the galaxy from its central point source, thereby obtaining a four-band optical SED for each active nucleus. We calculate bolometric luminosities for these AGN by reddening a normalized mean SED of GOODS broad-line AGN to match the observed central point-source SED of each obscured AGN. This estimate of Lbol has a smaller spread than simple bolometric corrections to the X-ray luminosity or direct integration of the observed multi-wavelength SED, suggesting it is a better measure. We estimate central black hole masses from the bulge luminosities. The black hole masses span a wide range, 7 x 10^6 M_sun to 6 x 10^9 M_sun; the median black hole mass is 5 x 10^8 M_sun. The majority of these AGN have L/L_Edd < 0.01, and we detect no significant evolution of the mean Eddington ratio to z = 1.25. This implies that the bulk of black hole growth in these obscured AGN must have occurred at z > 1 and that we are observing these AGN in a slow- or no-growth state.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2010

The Extended Chandra Deep Field-South Survey: Optical spectroscopy of faint X-ray sources with the VLT and Keck

We present the results of a program to acquire high-quality optical spectra of X-ray sources detected in the E-CDF-S and its central area. New spectroscopic redshifts are measured for 283 counterparts to Chandra sources with deep exposures (t~2-9 hr per pointing) using multi-slit facilities on both the VLT and Keck thus bringing the total number of spectroscopically-identified X-ray sources to over 500 in this survey field. We provide a comprehensive catalog of X-ray sources detected in the E-CDF-S including the optical and near-infrared counterparts, and redshifts (both spectroscopic and photometric) that incorporate published spectroscopic catalogs thus resulting in a final sample with a high fraction (80%) of X-ray sources having secure identifications. We demonstrate the remarkable coverage of the Lx-z plane now accessible from our data while emphasizing the detection of AGNs that contribute to the faint end of the luminosity function at 1.5<z<3. Our redshift catalog includes 17 type 2 QSOs that significantly increases such samples (2x). With our deepest VIMOS observation, we identify "elusive" optically-faint galaxies (R~25) at z~2-3 based upon the detection of interstellar absorption lines; we highlight one such case, an absorption-line galaxy at z=3.208 having no obvious signs of an AGN in its optical spectrum. In addition, we determine distances to eight galaxy groups with extended X-ray emission. Finally, we measure the physical extent of known large-scale structures (z~0.7) evident in the CDF-S. While a thick sheet (radial size of 67.7 Mpc) at z~0.67 extends over the full field, the z~0.73 structure is thin (18.8 Mpc) and filamentary as traced by both AGNs and galaxy groups. In the appendix, we provide spectroscopic redshifts for 49 counterparts to fainter X-ray sources detected only in the 1 and 2 Ms catalogs, and 48 VLA radio sources not detected in X-rays.

astro-ph.CO↗