Pith. sign in

REVIEW 6 cited by

Cosmological Evolution of the Hard X-ray AGN Luminosity Function and the Origin of the Hard X-ray Background

Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.

SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event

T0 review · schema-true

One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.

pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp

arxiv astro-ph/0308140 v2 pith:NRRUKTZG submitted 2003-08-08 astro-ph

classification astro-ph
keywords x-rayagnsluminosityevolutionfunctionhardhxlfbackground
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

Signed reviews

No signed human review yet.

0 comments
read the original abstract

We investigate the cosmological evolution of the hard X-ray luminosity function (HXLF) of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in the 2-10 keV luminosity range of 10^{41.5} - 10^{46.5} erg s^-1 as a function of redshift up to 3. From a combination of surveys conducted at photon energies above 2 keV with HEAO1, ASCA, and Chandra, we construct a highly complete (>96%) sample consisting of 247 AGNs over the wide flux range of 10^{-10} - 3.8*10^{-15} erg cm^-2 s^-1 (2-10 keV). For our purpose, we develop an extensive method of calculating the intrinsic (before-absorption) HXLF and the absorption (N_H) function. This utilizes the maximum likelihood method fully correcting for observational biases with consideration of the X-ray spectrum of each source. We find that (i) the fraction of X-ray absorbed AGNs decreases with the intrinsic luminosity and (ii) the evolution of the HXLF of all AGNs (including both type-I and type-II AGNs) is best described with a luminosity dependent density evolution (LDDE) where the cutoff redshift increases with the luminosity. Our results directly constrain the evolution of AGNs that produce a major part of the hard X-ray background, thus solving its origin quantitatively. A combination of the HXLF and the NH function enables us to construct a purely "observation based" population synthesis model. We present basic consequences of this model, and discuss the contribution of Compton-thick AGNs to the rest of the hard X-ray background.

Discussion (0). Continue with ORCID to comment.

Forward citations

Cited by 6 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score. Full citation record

  1. AGN radiative feedback as the main regulator of [O III] outflow activity and obscuration in X-ray AGN

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 6.5 of 10

    Higher Eddington ratio AGN exhibit increased [O III] outflow incidence and reduced obscuration, supporting radiative feedback as the regulator.

  2. The most extreme high-z radio quasars in the eRASS:1 X-ray survey

    astro-ph.GA 2026-08 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    The team confirmed 39 new high-redshift radio quasars and found that the number of X-ray-selected blazars at z>4 grows with redshift faster than a constant X-ray/radio ratio model, in broad agreement with the IC/CMB model.

  3. The eROSITA X-ray luminosity function of active galactic nuclei

    astro-ph.GA 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    The eROSITA DR2 sample yields a new soft-band AGN X-ray luminosity function spanning eight decades in luminosity to z≈6, with lower low-redshift bright-end densities and higher high-redshift abundances than previous models.

  4. Population synthesis of active galactic nuclei based on the radiation-regulated unification model

    astro-ph.HE 2026-05 unverdicted novelty 5.0 of 10

    Using ray-tracing simulations and simulation-based inference, the authors construct an AGN population that reproduces the cosmic X-ray background, number counts, and absorption properties, deriving an intrinsic Compto...

  5. Study of Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars and BL Lacertae Objects as Sources of Diffusive Ultra High-Energy Cosmic Rays

    astro-ph.HE 2025-11 unverdicted novelty 4.0 of 10

    BL Lacs remain consistent with UHECR observations while FSRQs are disfavoured by anisotropy and source density mismatches after propagation modeling.

  6. Unification models of Active Galactic Nuclei

    astro-ph.GA 2026-06 unverdicted novelty 2.0 of 10

    Overview chapter summarizing traditional orientation-based and radiation-regulated unification models for AGN, including evolutionary aspects and changing-look AGN.

Pith tools