Description
We explore the nature of Infrared Excess sources (IRX), which are proposed as candidates for luminous [LX(2-10keV)>10^43^erg/s] Compton thick (NH>2x10^24^cm^-2^) QSOs at z~~2. Lower redshift, z~~1, analogues of the distant IRX population are identified by first redshifting to z=2 the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of all sources with secure spectroscopic redshifts in the AEGIS (6488) and the GOODS-North (1784) surveys and then selecting those that qualify as IRX sources at that redshift. A total of 19 galaxies are selected. The mean redshift of the sample is z~~1. We do not find strong evidence for Compton thick QSOs in the sample. For nine sources with X-ray counterparts, the X-ray spectra are consistent with Compton thin active galactic nucleus (AGN). Only three of them show tentative evidence for Compton thick obscuration. The SEDs of the X-ray undetected population are consistent with starburst activity.
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