Interactions between galaxies are predicted to cause gas inflows that canpotentially trigger nuclear activity. Since the inflowing material can obscurethe central regions of interacting galaxies, a potential limitation of previousoptical studies is that obscured AGNs can be missed at various stages along themerger sequence. In a recent large MIR study of AGNs in mergers, we demonstratedthat the fraction of obscured AGNs increases with merger stage relative to awell-defined control sample, with the most energetically dominant opticallyobscured AGNs becoming more prevalent in the most advanced mergers. We proposeto observe with XMM all MIR-selected AGNs in advanced mergers from our sample toquantify the intrinsic absorption along the merger sequence.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-07-08T17:37:44Z/2019-04-18T07:34:38Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Prof Shobita Satyapal, 2020, 'Characterizing the Intrinsic Absorption Along the Merger Sequence with XMM-Newto', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-cp8r80f
