We study the incidence of nuclear obscuration on a complete sample of 1310 active galactic nuclei (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 unobscured 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 per cent of the objects, and the remaining 30 per cent can be further subdivided into two distinct classes: at low luminosities X-ray unobscured 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 unobscured 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.
ABSTRACT
Using the wide multiband photometry available in the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field, we explore the host galaxy properties of a large sample of active galactic nuclei (AGNs; ∼1700 ...objects) with Lbol ranging from 1043 to 1047 erg s−1, obtained by combining X‐ray and optical spectroscopic selections. Based on a careful study of their spectral energy distributions, which have been parametrized using a two‐component (AGN+galaxy) model fit, we have derived dust‐corrected rest‐frame magnitudes, colours and stellar masses of the obscured and unobscured AGN hosts up to high redshift (z≲3). Moreover, for the sample of obscured AGNs, we have also derived reliable star formation rates (SFRs). We find that AGN hosts span a large range of stellar masses and SFRs. No colour‐bimodality is seen at any redshift in the AGN hosts, which are found to be mainly massive, red galaxies. Once we have accounted for the colour–mass degeneracy in well‐defined mass‐matched samples, we find a residual (marginal) enhancement of the incidence of AGNs in redder galaxies with lower specific SFRs. We argue that this result might emerge because of our ability to properly account for AGN light contamination and dust extinction, compared to surveys with a more limited multiwavelength coverage. However, because these colour shifts are relatively small, systematic effects could still be considered responsible for some of the observed trends. Interestingly, we find that the probability for a galaxy to host a black hole that is growing at any given ‘specific accretion rate’ (i.e. the ratio of X‐ray luminosity to the host stellar mass) is almost independent of the host galaxy mass, while it decreases as a power law with LX/M*. By analysing the normalization of such a probability distribution, we show how the incidence of AGNs increases with redshift as rapidly as (1 + z)4, which closely resembles the overall evolution of the specific SFR of the entire galaxy population. We provide analytical fitting formulae that describe the probability of a galaxy of any mass (above the completeness limit of the COSMOS) to host an AGN of any given specific accretion rate as a function of redshift. These can be useful tools for theoretical studies of the growing population of black holes within galaxy evolution models. Although AGN activity and star formation in galaxies do appear to have a common triggering mechanism, at least in a statistical sense, within the COSMOS sample, we do not find any conclusive evidence to suggest that AGNs have a powerful influence on the star‐forming properties of their host galaxies.
We present a study of the X-ray to optical properties of a sample of 545 X-ray selected type 1 AGN, from the XMM-COSMOS survey, over a wide range of redshifts (0.04 < z < 4.25) and X-ray luminosities ...(40.6 ≤ Log $L_{2-10~{\rm keV}}$ ≤ 45.3). About 60% of them are spectroscopically identified type 1 AGN, while the others have a reliable photometric redshift and are classified as type 1 AGN on the basis of their multi-band Spectral Energy Distributions. We discuss the relationship between UV and X-ray luminosity, as parameterized by the $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ spectral slope, and its dependence on redshift and luminosity. We compare our findings with previous investigations of optically selected broad-line AGN (mostly from SDSS). A highly significant correlation between $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ and $L_{2500~{\rm \AA}}$ is found, in agreement with previous investigations of optically selected samples. We calculate bolometric corrections, kbol, for the whole sample using hard X-ray luminosities ($L_{2-10~{\rm keV}}$), and the Eddington ratios for a subsample of 150 objects for which black hole mass estimates are available. We confirm the trend of increasing bolometric correction with increasing Eddington ratio as proposed in previous works. A tight correlation is found between $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ and kbol, which can be used to estimate accurate bolometric corrections using only optical and X-ray data. We find a significant correlation between $\alpha_{\rm ox}$ and Eddington ratio, in which the ratio between X-ray and optical flux decreases with increasing Eddington ratio.
We present Keck spectroscopic observations and redshifts for a sample of 767 Herschel-SPIRE selected galaxies (HSGs) at 250, 350, and 500 mum, taken with the Keck I Low Resolution Imaging ...Spectrometer and the Keck II DEep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph. The redshift distribution of these SPIRE sources from the Herschel Multitiered Extragalactic Survey peaks at z = 0.85, with 731 sources at z < 2 and a tail of sources out to z ~ 5. By probing the dust spectral energy distribution (SED) at its peak, we estimate that the vast majority (72%-83%) of z < 2 Herschel-selected galaxies would drop out of traditional submillimeter surveys at 0.85-1 mm. We find that dust temperature traces infrared luminosity, due in part to the SPIRE wavelength selection biases, and partially from physical effects. As a result, we measure no significant trend in SPIRE color with redshift; if dust temperature were independent of luminosity or redshift, a trend in SPIRE color would be expected.
We present an empirical method of assessing the star formation rate (SFR) of star-forming galaxies based on their locations in the rest-frame color–color diagram (NUV − r) vs. (r − K). By using the ...Spitzer 24 μm sample in the COSMOS field (~16 400 galaxies with 0.2 ≤ z ≤ 1.3) and a local GALEX-SDSS-SWIRE sample (~700 galaxies with z ≤ 0.2), we show that the mean infrared excess ⟨IRX⟩ = ⟨ LIR/LUV ⟩ can be described by a single vector, NRK , that combines the two colors. The calibration between ⟨IRX⟩ and NRK allows us to recover the IR luminosity, LIR, with an accuracy of σ ~ 0.21 for the COSMOS sample and 0.27 dex for the local one. The SFRs derived with this method agree with the ones based on the observed (UV+IR) luminosities and on the spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting for the vast majority (~85%) of the star-forming population. Thanks to a library of model galaxy SEDs with realistic prescriptions for the star formation history, we show that we need to include a two-component dust model (i.e., birth clouds and diffuse ISM) and a full distribution of galaxy inclinations in order to reproduce the behavior of the ⟨IRX⟩ stripes in the NUVrK diagram. In conclusion, the NRK method, based only on the rest-frame UV/optical colors available in most of the extragalactic fields, offers a simple alternative of assessing the SFR of star-forming galaxies in the absence of far-IR or spectral diagnostic observations.
We investigate the properties of 12 ultramassive passively evolving early-type galaxies (ETGs) at zphot > 1.4 in the COSMOS 2 deg2 field. These 12 ETGs were selected as pBzKs, have accurate 1.4 ...≲zphot≲ 1.7, high Sérsic index profiles typical of ellipticals, no detection at 24 μm, resulting in a complete ETG sample at M* > 2.5 × 1011 M⊙ (Chabrier initial mass function). Contrary to the previous claims, the half-light radii estimated in very high signal-to-noise ratio imaging data from Hubble Space Telescope+Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) are found to be large for most of the sample, consistent with local ellipticals. If the high-redshift ETGs with M* < 2.5 × 1011 M⊙ are really small in size and compact as reported in the previous studies, our result may suggest a ‘downsizing’ scenario, whereby the most massive ETGs reach their final structure earlier and faster than the lower mass ones. However, simulating galaxies with morphological properties fixed to those of local ETGs with the same stellar mass show that the few compact galaxies that we still recover in our sample can be understood in terms of fluctuations due to noise preventing the recovery of the extended low surface brightness haloes in the light profile. Such haloes, typical of Sérsic profiles, extending even up to 40 kpc, are indeed seen in our sample.
ABSTRACT At z 1, the distinction between merging and "normal" star-forming galaxies based on single band morphology is often hampered by the presence of large clumps which result in a disturbed, ...merger-like appearance even in rotationally supported disks. In this paper we discuss how a classification based on canonical, non-parametric structural indices measured on resolved stellar mass maps, rather than on single-band images, reduces the misclassification of clumpy but not merging galaxies. We calibrate the mass-based selection of mergers using the MIRAGE hydrodynamical numerical simulations of isolated and merging galaxies which span a stellar mass range of 109.8-1010.6 M and merger ratios between 1:1-1:6.3. These simulations are processed to reproduce the typical depth and spatial resolution of observed Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) data. We test our approach on a sample of real galaxies with kinematic classification into disks or mergers and on ∼100 galaxies in the HUDF field with photometric/spectroscopic redshift between 1.5 ≤ z ≤ 3 and M > 109.4 M . We find that a combination of the asymmetry AMASS and M20, MASS indices measured on the stellar mass maps can efficiently identify real (major) mergers with 20% contamination from clumpy disks in the merger sample. This mass-based classification cannot be reproduced in star-forming galaxies by H-band measurements alone, which instead result in a contamination from clumpy galaxies which can be as high as 50%. Moreover, we find that the mass-based classification always results in a lower contamination from clumpy galaxies than an H-band classification, regardless of the depth of the imaging used (e.g., CANDELS versus HUDF).
We study a sample of 61submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) selected from ground-based surveys, with known spectroscopic redshifts and observed with the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the PACS ...Evolutionary Probe (PEP) and the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey (HerMES) guaranteed time key programmes. Our study makes use of the broad far-infrared and submillimetre wavelength coverage (100−600 μm) only made possible by the combination of observations from the PACS and SPIRE instruments aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. Using a power-law temperature distribution model to derive infrared luminosities and dust temperatures, we measure a dust emissivity spectral index for SMGs of β = 2.0 ± 0.2. Our results unambiguously unveil the diversity of the SMG population. Some SMGs exhibit extreme infrared luminosities of s10\hbox{$^{13} {L_{\odot}}$}L⊙13 and relatively warm dust components, while others are fainter (a few times 1012 L⊙) and are biased towards cold dust temperatures. Although at zs2 classical SMGs (>5 mJy at 850 μm) have large infrared luminosities (s1013 L⊙), objects only selected on their submm flux densities (without any redshift informations) probe a large range in dust temperatures and infrared luminosities. The extreme infrared luminosities of some SMGs (LIR ≳ 1012.7 L⊙, 26/61 systems) imply star formation rates (SFRs) of >500 M⊙ yr-1 (assuming a Chabrier IMF and no dominant AGN contribution to the FIR luminosity). Such high SFRs are difficult to reconcile with a secular mode of star formation, and may instead correspond to a merger-driven stage in the evolution of these galaxies. Another observational argument in favour of this scenario is the presence of dust temperatures warmer than that of SMGs of lower luminosities (s40 K as opposed to s25 K), consistent with observations of local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies triggered by major mergers and with results from hydrodynamic simulations of major mergers combined with radiative transfer calculations. Moreover, we find that luminous SMGs are systematically offset from normal star-forming galaxies in the stellar mass-SFR plane, suggesting that they are undergoing starburst events with short duty cycles, compatible with the major merger scenario. On the other hand, a significant fraction of the low infrared luminosity SMGs have cold dust temperatures, are located close to the main sequence of star formation, and therefore might be evolving through a secular mode of star formation. However, the properties of this latter population, especially their dust temperature, should be treated with caution because at these luminosities SMGs are not a representative sample of the entire star-forming galaxy population.
We have developed a new prior-based source extraction tool, xid+, to carry out photometry in the Herschel SPIRE (Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver) maps at the positions of known sources. ...xid+ is developed using a probabilistic Bayesian framework that provides a natural framework in which to include prior information, and uses the Bayesian inference tool Stan to obtain the full posterior probability distribution on flux estimates. In this paper, we discuss the details of xid+ and demonstrate the basic capabilities and performance by running it on simulated SPIRE maps resembling the COSMOS field, and comparing to the current prior-based source extraction tool desphot. Not only we show that xid+ performs better on metrics such as flux accuracy and flux uncertainty accuracy, but we also illustrate how obtaining the posterior probability distribution can help overcome some of the issues inherent with maximum-likelihood-based source extraction routines. We run xid+ on the COSMOS SPIRE maps from Herschel Multi-Tiered Extragalactic Survey using a 24-...m catalogue as a positional prior, and a uniform flux prior ranging from 0.01 to 1000 mJy. We show the marginalized SPIRE colour-colour plot and marginalized contribution to the cosmic infrared background at the SPIRE wavelengths. xid+ is a core tool arising from the Herschel Extragalactic Legacy Project (HELP) and we discuss how additional work within HELP providing prior information on fluxes can and will be utilized. The software is available at https://github.com/H-E-L-P/XID_plus. We also provide the data product for COSMOS. We believe this is the first time that the full posterior probability of galaxy photometry has been provided as a data product. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
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