AGN Absorption Linked to Host Galaxies

Multiwavelength identification of AGN is crucial not only to obtain a more complete census, but also to learn about the physical state of the nuclear activity (obscuration, efficiency, etc.). A panchromatic strategy plays an especially important role when the host galaxies are star-forming. Selecting far-Infrared galaxies at 0.3<z<1, and using AGN tracers in the X-ray, optical spectra, mid-infrared, and radio regimes, we found a twice higher AGN fraction than previous studies, thanks to the combined AGN identification methods and in particular the recent Mass-Excitation (MEx) diagnostic diagram. We furthermore find an intriguing relation between AGN X-ray absorption and the specific star formation rate (sSFR) of the host galaxies, indicating a physical link between X-ray absorption and either the gas fraction or the gas geometry in the hosts. These findings have implications for our current understanding of both the AGN unification model and the nature of the black hole-galaxy connection.