XMM–Newton surveys of the Canada–France Redshift Survey Fields – III. The environments of X-ray selected active galactic nuclei at 0.4 < z < 0.6

The environmental properties of a sample of 31 hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) are investigated, from scales of 500 kpc down to 30 kpc, and are compared to a control sample of inactive galaxies. All the AGN lie in the redshift range  0.4 < z < 0.6  . The accretion luminosity density of the Universe peaks close to this redshift range, and the AGN in the sample have X-ray luminosities close to the knee in the hard X-ray luminosity function, making them representative of the population that dominated this important phase of energy conversion.
Using both the spatial clustering amplitude and near-neighbour counts, it is found that the AGN have environments that are indistinguishable from normal, inactive galaxies over the same redshift range and with similar optical properties. Typically, the environments are of subcluster richness, in contrast to similar studies of high- z quasars, which are often found in clusters with comparable richness to the Abell   R ≥ 0  clusters.
It is suggested that minor mergers with low-mass companions are a likely candidate for the mechanism by which these modest luminosity AGN are fuelled.     

A survey of hard spectrum ROSAT sources – II. Optical identification of hard sources

We have surveyed 188 ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter (PSPC) fields for X-ray sources with hard spectra ( α <0.5); such sources must be major contributors to the X-ray background at faint fluxes. In this paper we present optical identifications for 62 of these sources: 28 active galactic nuclei (AGN) which show broad lines in their optical spectra (BLAGN), 13 narrow emission line galaxies (NELGs), five galaxies with no visible emission lines, eight clusters and eight Galactic stars.
The BLAGN, NELGs and galaxies have similar distributions of X-ray flux and spectra. Their ROSAT spectra are consistent with their being AGN obscured by columns of 20.5< log( N _H/cm⁻²)<23 . The hard spectrum BLAGN have a distribution of X-ray to optical ratios which is similar to that found for AGN from soft X-ray surveys (1< α _OX<2) . However, a relatively large proportion (15 per cent) of the BLAGN, NELGs and galaxies are radio loud. This could be because the radio jets in these objects produce intrinsically hard X-ray emission, or if their hardness is caused by absorption, it could be because radio-loud objects are more X-ray luminous than radio-quiet objects. The eight hard sources identified as clusters of galaxies are the brightest, and softest group of sources and hence clusters are unlikely to be an important component of the hard, faint population.
We propose that BLAGN are likely to constitute a significant fraction of the faint, hard, 0.5–2 keV population and could be important to reproducing the shape of the X-ray background, because they are the most numerous type of object in our sample (comprising almost half the identified sources), and because all our high redshift ( z >1) identified hard sources have broad lines.     

The active nuclei of z < 1.0 3CRR radio sources

We combine Chandra and XMM–Newton X-ray data from our previous papers with new X-ray observations and with Spitzer mid-infrared (mid-IR) data in order to study the nature of the nuclei of radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars with   z < 1.0  from the 3CRR sample. The significant increase in sample size over our previous work, the reduction of bias in the sample as a result of new observations and the availability of more mid-IR data allow us to show conclusively that almost all objects classed as low-excitation radio galaxies in optical spectroscopic studies lack a radiatively efficient active nucleus. We show that the distribution of absorbing columns in the narrow-line radio galaxies differs from the population of X-ray-selected radio-quiet type 2 quasars and from that in local Seyfert 2s. We comment on the current evidence for the nature of the soft X-ray component in radio-galaxy nuclear spectra, concluding that a jet origin for this component is very hard to evade. Finally, we discuss the recently discovered 'fundamental plane' of black hole activity, showing that care must be taken when placing radio-loud active galactic nucleus (AGN) on such diagnostic diagrams.     

The BeppoSAX High Energy Large Area Survey (HELLAS) – III. Testing synthesis models for the X-ray background

The BeppoSAX High Energy Large Area Survey (HELLAS) has surveyed several tens of deg² of the sky in the     band down to a flux of about     . The source surface density of     at the survey limit corresponds to a resolved fraction of the     X-ray background (XRB) of the order of     per cent. The extrapolation of the HELLAS     towards fainter fluxes with a Euclidean slope is consistent with the first XMM–Newton measurements, in the same energy band, which are a factor of 20 times more sensitive. The source counts in the hardest band so far surveyed by X-ray satellites are used to constrain XRB models. It is shown that in order to reproduce the     counts over the range of fluxes covered by BeppoSAX and XMM–Newton a large fraction of highly absorbed     , luminous     active galactic nuclei is needed. A sizeable number of more heavily obscured, Compton-thick, objects cannot be ruled out but they are not required by the present data. The model predicts an absorption distribution consistent with that found from the hardness ratios analysis of the so far identified HELLAS sources. Interestingly enough, there is evidence of a decoupling between X-ray absorption and optical reddening indicators, especially at high redshifts/luminosities where several broad-line quasars show hardness ratios typical of absorbed power-law models with     .     

β-model and cooling flows in X-ray clusters of galaxies

The spatial emission from the core of cooling-flow clusters of galaxies is inadequately described by a β -model. Spectrally, the central region of these clusters is well approximated with a two-temperature model, where the inner temperature represents the multiphase status of the core and the outer temperature is a measure of the ambient gas temperature. Following this observational evidence, I extend the use of the β -model to a two-phase gas emission, where the two components coexist within a boundary radius r _cool and the ambient gas alone fills the volume shell at a radius above r _cool. This simple model still provides an analytic expression for the total surface brightness profile     (Note in the first term the different sign with respect to the standard β -model.) Based upon a physically meaningful model for the X-ray emission, this formula can be used (i) to improve significantly the modelling of the surface brightness profile of cooling flow clusters of galaxies when compared to the standard β -model results, (ii) to constrain properly the physical characteristics of the intracluster plasma in the outskirts, like, e.g., the ambient gas temperature.     

Photometric studies of three multiperiodic β Cephei stars: β CMa, 15 CMa and KZ Mus

We have carried out single and multisite photometry of the three β Cephei stars β and 15 CMa as well as KZ Mus. For the two stars in CMa, we obtained 270 h of measurement in the Strömgren uvy and Johnson V filters, while 150 h of time-resolved Strömgren uvy photometry was acquired for KZ Mus. All three stars are multiperiodic variables, with three (β CMa) and four (15 CMa, KZ Mus) independent pulsation modes. Two of the mode frequencies of 15 CMa are new discoveries and one of the known modes showed amplitude variations over the last 33 yr. Taken together, this fully explains the diverse behaviour of the star reported in the literature.
Mode identification by means of the amplitude ratios in the different passbands suggests one radial mode for each star. In addition, β CMa has a dominant  ℓ= 2  mode while its third mode is non-radial with unknown ℓ. The non-radial modes of 15 CMa, which are  ℓ≤ 3  , form an almost equally split triplet that, if physical, would imply that we see the star under an inclination angle larger than 55°. The strongest non-radial mode of KZ Mus is  ℓ= 2  , followed by the radial mode and a dipole mode. Its weakest known mode is non-radial with unknown ℓ, confirming previous mode identifications for the pulsations of the star.
The phased light curve for the strongest mode of 15 CMa has a descending branch steeper than the rising branch. A stillstand phenomenon during the rise to maximum light is indicated. Given the low photometric amplitude of this non-radial mode this is at first sight surprising, but it can be explained by the aspect angle of the mode.