|
Description
Mid-infrared spectroscopic measurements from the Infrared Spectrometer (IRS) on Spitzer are given for 125 hard X-ray active galactic nuclei (AGNs; 14-195keV) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) sample and for 32 AGNs with black hole masses (BHMs) from reverberation mapping. The 9.7{mu}m silicate feature in emission or absorption defines an infrared AGN classification describing whether AGNs are observed through dust clouds, indicating that 55% of the BAT AGNs are observed through dust. The 100 most luminous type 1 quasars as measured in {nu}L_{nu}_(7.8{mu}m) are found by comparing Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optically discovered quasars with photometry at 22{mu}m from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), scaled to rest frame 7.8{mu}m using an empirical template determined from IRS spectra. The most luminous SDSS/WISE quasars have the same maximum infrared luminosities for all 1.5<z<5, reaching total infrared luminosity L_IR_=10^14.4^L_{sun}_. Comparing with dust-obscured galaxies from Spitzer and WISE surveys, we find no evidence of hyperluminous obscured quasars whose maximum infrared luminosities exceed the maximum infrared luminosities of optically discovered quasars. Bolometric luminosities L_bol_ estimated from rest-frame optical or ultraviolet luminosities are compared to L_IR_. For the local AGN, the median logL_IR_/L_bol_=-0.35, consistent with a covering factor of 45% for the absorbing dust clouds. For the SDSS/WISE quasars, the median logL_IR_/L_bol_=0.1, with extremes indicating that ultraviolet-derived L_bol_ can be seriously underestimated even for type 1 quasars.
|
