Active galactic nuclei (AGN), which represent the growing phase of supermassiveblack holes (SMBHs), allow us to study the accretion history of the SMBH.Population synthesis models predict that, at the peak of the global SMBH growth(zvirgul1.5--3), nearly 50 % of all AGN should be Compton thick (CT). Discovery ofCT-AGN at high-redshift is still a challenging task. Here, we propose to observejointly with NuSTAR and XMM-Newton a bright CT-AGN candidate at redshift z=2.99,selected from the XMM serendipitous source catalog. The unabsorbed rest-frame2-10 keV luminosity of the source is found to be Lxvirgul5e46 erg/s, whichpotentially makes it the largest intrinsic luminosity quasar ever observed inX-rays, and currently the only CT-AGN candidate that is observable by NuSTAR at z>virgul3.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2021-09-28T05:47:46Z/2021-09-29T00:37:46Z
Version
19.16_20210326_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 Xiurui Zhao, 2022, 'UNVEILING WITH NUSTAR THE MOST POWERFUL comma HEAVILY OBSCURED QUASAR EVER DISCOVERED', 19.16_20210326_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.57780/esa-b7yp05r
