X-ray spectral modelling of the AGN obscuring region in the CDFS: Bayesian model selection and catalogue

Aims. Active galactic nuclei are known to have complex X-ray spectra that depend on both the properties of the accreting super-massive black hole (e.g. mass, accretion rate) and the distribution of obscuring material in its vicinity (i.e. the "torus"). Often however, simple and even unphysical models are adopted to represent the X-ray spectra of AGN, which do not capture the complexity and diversity of the observations. In the case of blank field surveys in particular, this should have an impact on e.g. the determination of the AGN luminosity function, the inferred accretion history of the Universe and also on our understanding of the relation between AGN and their host galaxies. Methods. We develop a Bayesian…

• EC
  European Commission
• M
  Max-Planck-Gesellschaft