Delving Into X-ray Obscuration of Type 2 AGN, Near and Far

Abstract

Using self-consistent, physically motivated models, we investigate the X-ray obscuration in 19 Type 2 [OIII] 5007 Å selected AGN, 9 of which are local Seyfert 2 galaxies and 10 of which are Type 2 quasar candidates. We derive reliable line-of-sight and global column densities for these objects, which is the first time this has been reported for an AGN sample; 4 AGN have significantly different global and line-of-sight column densities. Five sources are heavily obscured to Compton-thick. We comment on interesting sources revealed by our spectral modeling, including a candidate ``naked'' Sy2. After correcting for absorption, we find that the ratio of the rest-frame, 2-10 keV luminosity (L${}_{2-10keV,\mathrm{in}}$) to L${}_{[\mathrm{OIII}]}$ is 1.54 $\pm$ 0.49 dex which is essentially identical to the mean Type 1 AGN value. The Fe K$\alpha$ luminosity is significantly correlated with L${}_{[\mathrm{OIII}]}$, but with substantial scatter. Finally, we do not find a trend between L${}_{2-10keV,\mathrm{in}}$ and global or line-of-sight column density, between column density and redshift, between column density and scattering fraction or between scattering fraction and redshift.

accepted for publication in ApJ; 43 pages, 13 figures, 9 tables

References in corpus (3)

• The Host Galaxies and Classification of Active Galactic Nuclei
• On the X-ray, optical emission line and black hole mass properties of local Seyfert galaxies
• Rapid N_H changes in NGC 4151

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