NuSTAR Survey of Swift/BAT AGN as a Probe of the Unified Model
Abstract
NuSTAR has enabled studies of the local AGN to extend into the spectral window above 10 keV with unprecedented spatial resolution and two orders of magnitude better sensitivity than any other instrument operating in that energy range. As a part of its long-term extragalactic program NuSTAR is surveying the nearby population of AGN detected at hard X-ray energies by the Swift/BAT instrument. We present results based on observations of ~100 Swift/BAT-selected Type-2 Seyferts surveyed in the first three years of NuSTAR operation. This large sample forms an atlas of the highest quality hard X-ray spectra available to date. Assuming a range of hard X-ray spectral models, phenomenological as well as physically motivated, we constrain the main spectral parameters for each source individually and test the applicability of the models on a large sample for the first time. This analysis allows us to determine distributions of the main spectral parameters related to the torus, such as the absorption column, reflection strength, and iron line equivalent width, in a well-defined population of nearby obscured AGN. More advanced models for the AGN torus allow us to investigate differences between various subsamples and interpret them within the unified model paradigm. We will discuss the implications for the structure of the torus in the local population of Type-2 Seyferts and present a comprehensive comparison of constraints derived from X-ray data and constraints from observations at other wavelengths for a relatively large sample.
- Publication:
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TORUS2015: The AGN Unification Scheme After 30 Years
- Pub Date:
- September 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015toru.conf..O14B
- Keywords:
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- Active Galactic Nuclei