A hard X-ray view of the hidden AGN population with NuSTAR
Abstract
New insights into AGNs are being provided by NuSTAR, the first focusing telescope with high sensitivity at hard X-ray energies (E>10 keV), and therefore at the peak energies of the cosmic X-ray background (CXB). I will present results from the 40-month NuSTAR serendipitous survey, which has yielded a large sample of ~500 hard X-ray sources (primarily AGNs), and will compare with results from targeted NuSTAR samples. A crucial part of the AGN census is to identify and characterise the most highly obscured (Compton-thick) AGNs, which may contribute a large fraction of the overall cosmic growth of black holes, but are normally hidden from view by gas and dust. I will show that NuSTAR is identifying new Compton-thick AGNs, which wouldn't have been identified at other wavelengths. These can inform us about the prevalence of such extreme systems in the general AGN population.
- Publication:
-
AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #16
- Pub Date:
- August 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017HEAD...1640502L