The Serendipitous Extragalactic X-ray Source Identification (SEXSI) Program is designed to expand significantly the sample of identified extragalactic hard X-ray sources at intermediate fluxes, 10^-13^ergs/cm^2^/s<~S_2-10keV_<10^-15^ergs/cm^2^/s. SEXSI, which includes sources derived from more than 2{deg}^2^ of Chandra images, provides the largest hard X-ray-selected sample yet studied, offering an essential complement to the Chandra Deep Fields (total area 0.2{deg}^2^). In this paper we describe R-band optical imaging of the SEXSI fields from the Palomar, MDM, and Keck observatories. We have identified counterparts or derived flux limits for nearly 1000 hard X-ray sources. Using the optical images, we derive accurate source positions. We investigate correlations between optical and X-ray flux, and optical flux and X-ray hardness ratio. We also study the density of optical sources surrounding X-ray counterparts, as well as the properties of optically faint, hard X-ray sources.
We present the catalog of 477 spectra from the Serendipitous Extragalactic X-ray Source Identification (SEXSI) program, a survey designed to probe the dominant contributors to the 2-10keV cosmic X-ray background. Our survey covers 1deg^2^ of sky to 2-10keV fluxes of 1x10^-14^ergs/cm^2^/s, and 2deg^2^ for fluxes of 3x10^-14^ergs/cm^2^/s. Our spectra reach to R-band magnitudes of ~<24 and have produced identifications and redshifts for 438 hard X-ray sources.
We compare the relative merits of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selection at X-ray and mid-infrared wavelengths using data from moderately deep fields observed by both Chandra and Spitzer. The X-ray-selected AGN sample and associated photometric and spectroscopic optical follow-up are drawn from a subset of fields studied as part of the Serendipitous Extragalactic X-ray Source Identification (SEXSI) program. Mid-infrared data in these fields are derived from targeted and archival Spitzer imaging, and mid-infrared AGN selection is accomplished primarily through application of the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) color-color AGN "wedge" selection technique. Nearly all X-ray sources in these fields which exhibit clear spectroscopic signatures of AGN activity have mid-infrared colors consistent with IRAC AGN selection. These are predominantly the most luminous X-ray sources. X-ray sources that lack high-ionization and/or broad lines in their optical spectra are far less likely to be selected as AGNs by mid-infrared color selection techniques. The fraction of X-ray sources identified as AGNs in the mid-infrared increases monotonically as the X-ray luminosity increases. Conversely, only 22% of mid-infrared-selected AGNs are detected at X-ray energies in the moderately deep (t_exp_~100ks) SEXSI Chandra data.
This paper is a catalog of Seyfert 2 galaxies observed in the 2-10keV band (339 flux entries). In total, it contains data on 150 objects; for 76 objects, a positive detection is reported, while for the remaining sources, 2{sigma} upper limits to the X-ray emission are given. Most of the data have been collected from the literature over a period starting from 1974 up to the middle of 1995. Accurate searches of literature and databases were performed for all objects, and frequently spectral fits were reevaluated in order to make the data in the catalog uniform and complete. Some unpublished data are also included. For six objects, EXOSAT/ME data have been extracted from the satellite database and analyzed; the 13 fluxes obtained have been added to the present catalog. The compilation of hard X-ray data has been complemented with data in the soft (0.1-3keV) X-ray band, as well as in ultraviolet (1450A), optical (5500A), infrared (3.5, 12, 25, 60, 100mm), and radio (6cm) bands. Fluxes of the [O III] {lambda}5007 and H{beta} emission lines as well as the Balmer decrement H{alpha}/H{beta}, and axial ratio a/b are also given. The present database is meant to be a useful tool for the study of the Seyfert 2 phenomenon in its various aspects.
The Star Formation in Nearby Clouds (SFiNCs) project is aimed at providing a detailed study of the young stellar populations and of star cluster formation in the nearby 22 star-forming regions (SFRs) for comparison with our earlier MYStIX survey of richer, more distant clusters. As a foundation for the SFiNCs science studies, here, homogeneous data analyses of the Chandra X-ray and Spitzer mid-infrared archival SFiNCs data are described, and the resulting catalogs of over 15300 X-ray and over 1630000 mid-infrared point sources are presented. On the basis of their X-ray/infrared properties and spatial distributions, nearly 8500 point sources have been identified as probable young stellar members of the SFiNCs regions. Compared to the existing X-ray/mid-infrared publications, the SFiNCs member list increases the census of YSO members by 6%-200% for individual SFRs and by 40% for the merged sample of all 22 SFiNCs SFRs.
Supergiant fast X-ray transients (SFXTs) are a new class of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) discovered thanks to the monitoring of the Galactic plane performed with the INTEGRAL satellite in the last 5 years. To characterize the properties of these sources on timescales of months, we are performing a monitoring campaign with Swift of four SFXTs (IGR J16479-4514, XTE J1739-302, IGR J17544-2619, and AX J1841.0-0536/IGR J18410-0535). We report on the first 4 months of Swift observations, which started on 2007 October 26. We detect low-level X-ray activity in all four SFXTs, which demonstrates that these transient sources accrete matter even outside their outbursts. The X-ray spectra are typically hard, with an average 2-10keV luminosity during this monitoring of about 10^33^-10^34^erg/s. We detected pulsations from the pulsar AX J1841.0-0536/IGR J18410-0535, with a period of 4.7008+/-0.0004s.
Dust formation in supernova ejecta is currently the leading candidate to explain the large quantities of dust observed in the distant, early universe. However, it is unclear whether the ejecta-formed dust can survive the hot interior of the supernova remnant (SNR). We present infrared observations of ~0.02 solar masses of warm (~100 kelvin) dust seen near the center of the ~10,000-year-old Sagittarius A East SNR at the Galactic center. Our findings indicate the detection of dust within an older SNR that is expanding into a relatively dense surrounding medium (electron density ~10^3^ centimeters^-3^) and has survived the passage of the reverse shock. The results suggest that supernovae may be the dominant dust-production mechanism in the dense environment of galaxies of the early universe.
We present the SHEEP survey for serendipitously detected hard X-ray sources in ASCA GIS images. In a survey area of ~40deg^2^, 69 sources were detected in the 5-10keV band to a limiting flux of ~10^-13^ergs/cm^2^/s. The number counts agree with those obtained by the similar BeppoSAX High-Energy Large Area Survey (HELLAS), and both are in close agreement with ASCA and BeppoSAX 2-10keV surveys. Spectral analysis of the SHEEP sample reveals that the 2-10 and 5-10keV surveys do not sample the same populations, however, as we find considerably harder spectra, with an average {Gamma}~1.0, assuming no absorption.
Our goal is to probe the populations of obscured and unobscured AGN investigating their optical-IR and X-ray properties as a function of X-ray flux, luminosity and redshift within a hard X-ray selected sample with wide multiwavelength coverage. We selected a sample of 136 X-ray sources detected at a significance of >=3{sigma} in the 2-10keV band (F_2-10_>~10^-14^erg/cm^2^/s) in a ~1deg^2^ area in the XMM Medium Deep Survey (XMDS, Cat. <J/A+A/439/413>). The XMDS area is covered with optical photometry from the VVDS and CFHTLS surveys and infrared Spitzer data from the SWIRE survey. Based on the X-ray luminosity and X-ray to optical ratio, 132 sources are likely AGN, of which 122 have unambiguous optical - IR identification. The observed optical and IR spectral energy distributions of all identified sources are fitted with AGN/galaxy templates in order to classify them and compute photometric redshifts. X-ray spectral analysis is performed individually for sources with a sufficient number of counts and using a stacking technique for subsamples of sources at different flux levels. Hardness ratios are used to estimate X-ray absorption in individual weak sources.
Finding active galactic nuclei (AGN) behind the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) is difficult because of the high stellar density in these fields. Although the first AGN behind the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) were reported in the 1980s, it is only recently that the number of AGN known behind the SMC has increased by several orders of magnitude. The mid-infrared colour selection technique has proven to be an efficient means of identifying AGN, especially obscured sources. The X-ray regime is complementary in this regard and we use XMM-Newton observations to support the identification of AGN behind the SMC. We present a catalogue of AGN behind the SMC by correlating an updated X-ray point-source catalogue from our XMM-Newton survey of the SMC with previously identified AGN from the literature as well as a list of candidates obtained from the ALLWISE mid-infrared colour-selection criterion. We studied the properties of the sample with respect to their redshifts, luminosities, and X-ray spectral characteristics. We also identified the near-infrared counterpart of the sources from the VISTA observations. The redshift and luminosity distributions of the sample (where known) indicate that we detect sources ranging from nearby Seyfert galaxies to distant and obscured quasars. The X-ray hardness ratios are compatible with those typically expected for AGN, and the VISTA colours and variability are also consistent with AGN. A positive correlation was observed between the integrated X-ray flux (0.2-12keV) and the ALLWISE and VISTA magnitudes. We further present a sample of new candidate AGN and candidates for obscured AGN. Together these make an interesting subset for further follow-up studies. An initial spectroscopic follow-up of 6 out of the 81 new candidates showed that all six sources are active galaxies, although two have narrow emission lines.
