The X-ray spectral analysis of Compton thick (CT, having intrinsic obscuration NH>1E24 cm^-2) active galactic nuclei (AGN) is key to understand the physics of the obscuring material surrounding accreting supermassive black holes. We pro-pose to target with a combined NuSTAR/XMM-Newton observation the last 10 can-didate CT-AGN the BAT 100-month survey still lacking of NuSTAR data. With thisproposal, each CT-AGN candidate of this sample will have a NuSTAR observation,thus enabling the best characterization to date of CT-AGN. Thanks to the ex-cellent statistics (both in terms of spectral counts and sample size) we willstudy the sample physical properties, and put tighter constraints on the trueintrinsic fraction of CT-AGN in the nearby Universe and on contribution to CXB.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2019-08-20T17:26:30Z/2020-02-24T00:21:34Z
Version
18.02_20200221_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, Dr Stefano Marchesi, 2021, 'THE COMPTON THICK AGN LEGACY PROJECT: A COMPLETE SAMPLE OF NUSTAR-OBSERVED NEARB', 18.02_20200221_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-xkxmqtu
