Determining the torus covering factor in Compton-thick AGN with NuSTAR
Abstract
The covering factor of Compton-thick (CT) obscuring material associated with the torus in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is at present best understood through the fraction of sources exhibiting CT absorption along the line of sight (NH > 1.5 x 10^{24} cm^{-2}) in the X-ray band, which reveals the average covering factor. Determining this CT fraction is difficult, however, due to the extreme obscuration. With its spectral coverage at >10 keV, NuSTAR is sensitive to the covering factor since Compton scattering of X-rays off optically thick material dominates at these energies. I will present results on a spectral analysis of 10 CTAGN observed with NuSTAR where we have used the torus models of Brightman
- Publication:
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TORUS2015: The AGN Unification Scheme After 30 Years
- Pub Date:
- September 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015toru.conf..O16B
- Keywords:
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- Active Galactic Nuclei