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  • The hard X-ray luminosity f...
    Vito, F; Gilli, R; Vignali, C; Comastri, A; Brusa, M; Cappelluti, N; Iwasawa, K

    Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 12/2014, Letnik: 445, Številka: 4
    Journal Article

    We present the hard-band (2–10 keV) X-ray luminosity function (HXLF) of 0.5–2 keV band selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) at high redshift. We have assembled a sample of 141 AGN at 3 < z ≲ 5 from X-ray surveys of different size and depth, in order to sample different regions in the L X − z plane. The HXLF is fitted in the range log L X ∼ 43–45 with standard analytical evolutionary models through a maximum likelihood procedure. The evolution of the HXLF is well described by a pure density evolution, with the AGN space density declining by a factor of ∼10 from z = 3 to 5. A luminosity-dependent density evolution model, which, normally, best represents the HXLF evolution at lower redshift, is also consistent with the data, but a larger sample of low-luminosity (log L X < 44), high-redshift AGN is necessary to constrain this model. We also estimated the intrinsic fraction of AGN obscured by a column density log N H ≥ 23 to be 0.54 ± 0.05, with no strong dependence on luminosity. This fraction is higher than the value in the Local Universe, suggesting an evolution of the luminous (L X > 1044 erg s−1) obscured AGN fraction from z = 0 to z > 3.