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CHAMP (Chandra Multiwavelength Project) Hard X-Ray Emitting AGN

Published by High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center | National Aeronautics and Space Administration | Metadata Last Checked: September 14, 2025 | Last Modified: 2025-09-10
This table contains the results from an X-ray and optical analysis of 188 active galactic nuclei (AGN) identified from 497 hard X-ray (observed flux in the (2.0 - 8.0 keV) band > 2.7 x 10<sup>-15</sup> erg/cm<sup>2</sup>/s) sources in 20 Chandra fields (1.5 square degrees) forming part of the Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP). These medium-depth X-ray observations enable the detection of a representative subset of those sources responsible for the bulk of the 2 - 8 keV cosmic X-ray background. Brighter than the survey's optical spectroscopic limit, the authors achieve a reasonable degree of completeness (77% of X-ray sources with counterparts r' < 22.5 have been classified): broad emission-line AGNs (62%), narrow emission-line galaxies (24%), absorption-line galaxies (7%), stars (5%), or clusters (2%). To construct a pure AGN sample, the authors required the rest-frame 2.0-8.0 keV luminosity (uncorrected for intrinsic absorption) to exceed 10<sup>42</sup> erg s<sup>-1</sup>, thereby excluding any sources that may contain a significant stellar or hot ISM component. The most luminous known star-forming or elliptical galaxies attain at most L<sub>X</sub> = 10<sup>42</sup> erg s<sup>-1</sup>. Since many of the traditional optical AGN signatures are not present in obscured sources, high X-ray luminosity becomes the authors' single discriminant for supermassive black hole accretion. They believe that almost all of the NELGs and ALGs harbor accreting SMBHs based on their X-ray luminosity. They find that 90% of the identified ChaMP sources have luminosities above this threshold. These selection criteria yield a sample of 188 AGNs from 20 Chandra fields with f(2-8 keV) > 2.7 x 10<sup>-15</sup> erg cm<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>, r' < 22.5, and L<sub>X</sub> > 10<sup>42</sup> erg s<sup>-1</sup>. The authors removed five objects identified as clusters based on their extended X-ray emission. This table was created by the HEASARC in March 2007 based on the CDS table J/ApJ/618/123, file table4.dat. This is a service provided by NASA HEASARC .

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