The NuSTAR Obscured AGN Observing Program
Abstract
The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), launched in June 2012, is opening up the high energy X-ray sky to sensitive study for the first time. Its combination of continuous spectral coverage over the 3-79 keV bandpass, low background and high sensitivity make NuSTAR the ideal instrument with which to enhance our understanding of the population of highly obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN), and the nature of their absorbing structures. NuSTAR will undertake two complimentary observational approaches for these sources. First, a few key objects covering three distinct obscuration regimes (borderline Compton thick: NH ~ 1e24, moderately Compton thick: 1e24 < NH < 1e25 and heavily Compton thick: NH > 1e25 at/cm^2) will be studied with long, high S/N observations in order to investigate in detail the reprocessed ('reflected') emission from the obscuring medium. Second, a series of snapshot overvations with more moderate S/N will be performed for a larger sample of ~30 spectroscopically identified Compton thick AGN, selected from mega-maser, Swift BAT and mid-IR samples, in order to investigate the evolution of the obscuring medium with various key physical quantities, e.g. inclination, intrinsic luminosity, etc. Here, we discuss plans, predictions and early results of the NuSTAR obscured AGN program.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #221
- Pub Date:
- January 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AAS...22124417W