Multi-wavelength Selected Compton-thick AGNs in Chandra Deep Field-South Survey

Abstract

Even in deep X-ray surveys, Compton-thick active galactic nuclei (CT AGNs, ${\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{H}}⩾1.5\times 10^{24}{\mathrm{cm}}^{-2}$) are difficult to be identified due to X-ray flux suppression and their complex spectral shape. However, the study of CT AGNs is vital for understanding the rapid growth of black holes and the origin of cosmic X-ray background. In the local universe, the fraction of CT AGNs accounts for 30% of the whole AGN population. We may expect a higher fraction of CT AGNs in deep X-ray surveys, however, only 10% of AGNs have been identified as CT AGNs in the 7 Ms \textit{Chandra} Deep Field-South (CDFS) survey. In this work, we select 51 AGNs with abundant multi-wavelength data. Using the method of the mid-infrared (mid-IR) excess, we select hitherto unknown 8 CT AGN candidates in our sample. Seven of these candidates can confirm as CT AGN based on the multi-wavelength identification approach, and a new CT AGN (XID 133) is identified through the mid-IR diagnostics. We also discuss the X-ray origin of these eight CT AGNs and the reason why their column densities were underestimated in previous studies. We find that the multi-wavelength approaches of selecting CT AGNs are highly efficient, provided the high quality of observational data. We also find that CT AGNs have a higher Eddington ratio than non-CT AGNs, and that both CT AGNs and non-CT AGNs show similar properties of host galaxies.

13 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ

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