Clustering of moderate luminosity X-ray-selected type 1 and type 2 AGNs at z ∼ 3
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, FI-00014 Helsinki (Finland)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, 6127 Wilder Laboratory, Hanover, NH 03755 (United States)
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Highfield SO17 1BJ (United Kingdom)
- Instituto de Astronomia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ensenada (Mexico)
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
- INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)
- National Observatory of Athens I. Metaxa and Vas. Pavlou St. GR-15236 Penteli (Greece)
- Max-Planck-Institute für Extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse 1, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
- Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwashi, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan)
We investigate, for the first time at z ∼ 3, the clustering properties of 189 Type 1 and 157 Type 2 X-ray active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of moderate luminosity ((L {sub bol}) = 10{sup 45.3} erg s{sup –1}), with photometric or spectroscopic redshifts in the range 2.2 < z < 6.8. These samples are based on Chandra and XMM-Newton data in COSMOS. We find that Type 1 and Type 2 COSMOS AGNs at z ∼ 3 inhabit DMHs with typical mass of log M{sub h} = 12.84{sub −0.11}{sup +0.10} and 11.73{sub −0.45}{sup +0.39} h {sup –1} M {sub ☉}, respectively. This result requires a drop in the halo masses of Type 1 and 2 COSMOS AGNs at z ∼ 3 compared to z ≲ 2 XMM-COSMOS AGNs with similar luminosities. Additionally, we infer that unobscured COSMOS AGNs at z ∼ 3 reside in 10 times more massive halos compared to obscured COSMOS AGNs, at the 2.6σ level. This result extends to z ∼ 3 the results found in COSMOS at z ≲ 2, and rules out the picture in which obscuration is purely an orientation effect. A model which assumes that the AGNs activity is triggered by major mergers is quite successful in predicting both the low halo mass of COSMOS AGNs and the typical mass of luminous SDSS quasars at z ∼ 3, with the latter inhabiting more massive halos respect to moderate luminosity AGNs. Alternatively we can argue, at least for Type 1 COSMOS AGNs, that they are possibly representative of an early phase of fast (i.e., Eddington limited) BH growth induced by cosmic cold flows or disk instabilities. Given the moderate luminosity, these new fast growing BHs have masses of ∼10{sup 7-8} M {sub ☉} at z ∼ 3 which might evolve into ∼10{sup 8.5-9} M {sub ☉} mass BHs at z = 0. Following our clustering measurements, we argue that this fast BH growth at z ∼ 3 in AGNs with moderate luminosity occurs in DMHs with typical mass of ∼ 6× 10{sup 12} h {sup –1} M {sub ☉}.
- OSTI ID:
- 22370011
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 796, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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