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Register a new userX-Ray Emitting Active Galactic Nuclei from z = 0.6-1.3 in the Intermediate and High-Density Environments of the ORELSE Survey
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We studied AGN activity in twelve LSSs in the ORELSE survey, at 0.65<z<1.28, using a combination of Chandra observations, optical and NIR imaging and spectroscopy. We located a total of 61 AGNs across our sample that were successfully matched to optical counterparts in the LSSs. Seeking to study AGN triggering mechanisms, we examined the spatial distribution of the AGNs and their average spectral properties. We found that AGN populations across our sample had less time since the last starburst than the overall galaxy populations. We did not find any relation between AGN activity and location within the LSSs, suggesting triggering mechanisms which depend on global environment are at most sub-dominant. To focus on differences between our AGNs, we grouped them into four sub-samples based on the spectral properties of their parents LSSs. We found one of the sub-samples, SG0023 & SC1604, stood out from the others: AGNs in this sample were disproportionately luminous, their average time since the last starburst event was the smallest, despite the fact that this was not true of the overall galaxy population in those LSSs, and both the AGNs and the overall galaxy population had the largest fraction of close kinematic pairs, which indicates a higher rate of galaxy mergers and interactions. These results suggest that major mergers are driving AGN activity in SG0023 & SC1604, while other processes are likely triggering less luminous AGNs in the rest of our sample. Additionally, minor mergers are unlikely to play a significant role, since the same conditions that lead to more major mergers should should also lead to more minor mergers, which is not observed in SG0023 & SC1604.
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We use the combination of the 2 Ms Chandra X-ray image, new J and H band images, and the Spitzer IRAC and MIPS images of the Chandra Deep Field-North to obtain high spectroscopic and photometric redshift completeness of high and intermediate X-ray luminosity sources in the redshift interval z=2-3. We measure the number densities of z=2-3 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and broad-line AGNs in the rest-frame 2-8 keV luminosity intervals 10^44-10^45 and 10^43-10^44 ergs/s and compare with previous lower redshift results. We confirm a decline in the number densities of intermediate-luminosity sources at z>1. We also measure the number density of z=2-3 AGNs in the luminosity interval 10^43-10^44.5 ergs/s and compare with previous low and high-redshift results. Again, we find a decline in the number densities at z>1. In both cases, we can rule out the hypothesis that the number densities remain flat to z=2-3 at above the 5-sigma level.
The highly energetic outflows from Active Galactic Nuclei detected in X-rays are one of the most powerful mechanisms by which the central supermassive black hole (SMBH) interacts with the host galaxy. The last two decades of high resolution X-ray spectroscopy with XMM and Chandra have improved our understanding of the nature of these outflowing ionized absorbers and we are now poised to take the next giant leap with higher spectral resolution and higher throughput observatories to understand the physics and impact of these outflows on the host galaxy gas. The future studies on X-ray outflows not only have the potential to unravel some of the currently outstanding puzzles in astronomy, such as the physical basis behind the MBH$-sigma$ relation, the cooling flow problem in intra-cluster medium (ICM), and the evolution of the quasar luminosity function across cosmic timescales, but also provide rare insights into the dynamics and nature of matter in the immediate vicinity of the SMBH. Higher spectral resolution ($le 0.5$ eV at $1$ keV) observations will be required to identify individual absorption lines and study the asymmetries and shifts in the line profiles revealing important information about outflow structures and their impact. Higher effective area ($ge 1000 rm ,cm^{2}$) will be required to study the outflows in distant quasars, particularly at the quasar peak era (redshift $1le zle 3$) when the AGN population was the brightest. Thus, it is imperative that we develop next generation X-ray telescopes with high spectral resolution and high throughput for unveiling the properties and impact of highly energetic X-ray outflows. A simultaneous high resolution UV + X-ray mission will encompass the crucial AGN ionizing continuum, and also characterize the simultaneous detections of UV and X-ray outflows, which map different spatial scales along the line of sight.
Identifying the source population of ionizing radiation, responsible for the reionization of the universe, is currently a hotly debated subject with conflicting results. Studies of faint, high-redshift star-forming galaxies, in most cases, fail to detect enough escaping ionizing radiation to sustain the process. Recently, the capacity of bright quasi-stellar objects to ionize their surrounding medium has been confirmed also for faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs), which were found to display an escaping fraction of ~74% at z~4. Such levels of escaping radiation could sustain the required UV background, given the number density of faint AGNs is adequate. Thus, it is mandatory to accurately measure the luminosity function of faint AGNs (L~L*) in the same redshift range. For this reason we have conducted a spectroscopic survey, using the wide field spectrograph IMACS at the 6.5m Baade Telescope, to determine the nature of our sample of faint AGN candidates in the COSMOS field. This sample was assembled using photometric redshifts, color, and X-ray information. We ended up with 16 spectroscopically confirmed AGNs at 3.6<z<4.2 down to a magnitude of i$_{AB}$=23.0 for an area of 1.73 deg$^{2}$. This leads to an AGN space density of ~1.6$times10^{-6} Mpc^{-3}$ (corrected) at z~4 for an absolute magnitude of M$_{1450}$=-23.5. This is higher than previous measurements and seems to indicate that AGNs could make a substantial contribution to the ionizing background at z~4. Assuming that AGN physical parameters remain unchanged at higher redshifts and fainter luminosities, these sources could be regarded as the main drivers of cosmic reionization.
Recent hydrodynamic simulations and observations of radio jets have shown that the surrounding environment has a large effect on their resulting morphology. To investigate this we use a sample of 50 Extended Radio Active Galactic Nuclei (ERAGN) detected in the Observations of Redshift Evolution in Large Scale Environments (ORELSE) survey. These sources are all successfully cross-identified to galaxies within a redshift range of $0.55 leq z leq 1.35$, either through spectroscopic redshifts or accurate photometric redshifts. We find that ERAGN are more compact in high-density environments than those in low-density environments at a significance level of 4.5$sigma$. Among a series of internal properties under our scrutiny, only the radio power demonstrates a positive correlation with their spatial extent. After removing the possible radio power effect, the difference of size in low- and high-density environments persists. In the global environment analyses, the majority (86%) of high-density ERAGN reside in the cluster/group environment. In addition, ERAGN in the cluster/group central regions are preferentially compact with a small scatter in size, compared to those in the cluster/group intermediate regions and fields. In conclusion, our data appear to support the interpretation that the dense intracluster gas in the central regions of galaxy clusters plays a major role in confining the spatial extent of radio jets.
We present a sample of accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in dwarf galaxies at $z<1$. We identify dwarf galaxies in the NEWFIRM Medium Band Survey with stellar masses $M_{star}<3times 10^{9} M_{odot}$ that have spectroscopic redshifts from the DEEP2 survey and lie within the region covered by deep (flux limit of $sim 5times 10^{-17} - 6times 10^{-16} rm{erg cm}^{-2} rm{s}^{-1}$) archival Chandra X-ray data. From our sample of $605$ dwarf galaxies, $10$ exhibit X-ray emission consistent with that arising from AGN activity. If black hole mass scales roughly with stellar mass, then we expect that these AGN are powered by SMBHs with masses of $sim 10^5-10^6 M_{odot}$ and typical Eddington ratios $sim 5%$. Furthermore, we find an AGN fraction consistent with extrapolations of other searches of $sim 0.6-3%$ for $10^9 M_{odot} leq M_{star} leq 3times 10^{9} M_{odot}$ and $0.1<z<0.6$. Our AGN fraction is in good agreement with a semi-analytic model, suggesting that as we search larger volumes we may use comparisons between observed AGN fractions and models to understand seeding mechanisms in the early universe.
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