The XMM-Newton Bright Survey sample of absorbed quasars: X-ray and accretion properties
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Ballo, L.
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Vignali, C.
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Carrera, F. J.
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Corral, A.
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Mateos, S.
Abstract
Although absorbed quasars are extremely important for our understanding of the energetics of the Universe, the main physical parameters of their central engines are still poorly known. In this work, we present and study a complete sample of 14 quasars (QSOs) that are absorbed in the X-rays (column density NH > 4 × 1021 cm-2 and X-ray luminosity L 2-10 keV > 1044 ergs-1; XQSO2) belonging to the XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Survey (XBS). From the analysis of their ultraviolet-to-mid-infrared spectral energy distribution, we can separate the nuclear emission from the host galaxy contribution, obtaining a measurement of the fundamental nuclear parameters, like the mass of the central supermassive black hole and the value of Eddington ratio, λ Edd. Comparing the properties of XQSO2s with those previously obtained for the X-ray unabsorbed QSOs in the XBS, we do not find any evidence that the two samples are drawn from different populations. In particular, the two samples span the same range in Eddington ratios, up to λ Edd ∼ 0.5; this implies that our XQSO2s populate the `forbidden region' in the so-called `effective Eddington limit paradigm'. A combination of low grain abundance, presence of stars inwards of the absorber, and/or anisotropy of the disc emission can explain this result.
Volume
444
Issue
3
Start page
2580
Issn Identifier
0035-8711
Ads BibCode
2014MNRAS.444.2580B
Rights
open.access
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