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We present a new catalogue of ∼2400 optically selected quasars with spectroscopic redshifts and X-ray observations from either Chandra or XMM–Newton. The sample can be used to investigate the non-linear relation between the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray luminosity of quasars as well as to build a Hubble diagram up to a redshift of z ∼ 7.5. We selected sources that are neither reddened by dust in the optical and UV nor obscured by gas in the X-rays, and whose X-ray fluxes are free from flux-limit-related biases. After checking for any possible systematics, we confirm, in agreement with our previous works, that the X-ray to UV relation provides distance estimates matching those from supernovae up to z ∼ 1.5, and its slope shows no redshift evolution up to z ∼ 5. We provide a full description of the methodology for testing cosmological models, further supporting a trend whereby the Hubble diagram of quasars is well reproduced by the standard flat cold dark matter model up to z ∼ 1.5–2, but strong deviations emerge at higher redshifts. Since we have minimised all non-negligible systematic effects and proven the stability of the LX − LUV relation at high redshifts, we conclude that an evolution of the expansion rate of the Universe should be considered as a possible explanation for the observed deviation, rather than some systematic (redshift-dependent) effect associated with high-redshift quasars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Finding the sources responsible for the hydrogen reionization is one of the most pressing issues in observational cosmology. Bright quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are known to ionize their surrounding neighborhood, but they are too few to ensure the required HI ionizing background. A significant contribution by faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs), however, could solve the problem, as recently advocated on the basis of a relatively large space density of faint active nuclei at z > 4. Aims. This work is part of a long-term project aimed at measuring the Lyman Continuum escape fraction for a large sample of AGNs at z ~ 4 down to an absolute magnitude of M1450 ~ -23. We have carried out an exploratory spectroscopic program to measure the HI ionizing emission of 16 faint AGNs spanning a broad U-I color interval, with I ~ 21-23, and 3:6 < z < 4.2. These AGNs are three magnitudes fainter than the typical SDSS QSOs (M1450 . ≲26) which are known to ionize their surrounding IGM at z ≳ 4. Methods. We acquired deep spectra of these faint AGNs with spectrographs available at the VLT, LBT, and Magellan telescopes, that is, FORS2, MODS1-2, and LDSS3, respectively. The emission in the Lyman Continuum region, close to 900 Å rest frame, has been detected with a signal to noise ratio of ~10-120 for all 16 AGNs. The flux ratio between the 900 Å rest-frame region and 930 Å provides a robust estimate of the escape fraction of HI ionizing photons. Results. We have found that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction is between 44 and 100% for all the observed faint AGNs, with a mean value of 74% at 3:6 < z < 4.2 and -25.1 ≲ M1450 ≲-23.3, in agreement with the value found in the literature for much brighter QSOs (M1450 ≲ -26) at the same redshifts. The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of our faint AGNs does not show any dependence on the absolute luminosities or on the observed U-I colors of the objects. Assuming that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction remains close to ~75% down to M1450 ~ -18, we find that the AGN population can provide between 16 and 73% (depending on the adopted luminosity function) of the whole ionizing UV background at z ~ 4, measured through the Lyman forest. This contribution increases to 25-100% if other determinations of the ionizing UV background are adopted from the recent literature. Conclusions. Extrapolating these results to z ~ 5-7, there are possible indications that bright QSOs and faint AGNs can provide a significant contribution to the reionization of the Universe, if their space density is high at M1450 ~ -23. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The observed spatial scale of the radio continuum emission from star-forming galaxies can be used to investigate the spatial extent of active star formation, constrain the importance of cosmic-ray transport, and examine the effects of galaxy interactions. Aims: We determine the radio size distribution of a large sample of 152 submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) in the COSMOS field that were pre-selected at 1.1 mm, and later detected with the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) in the observed-frame 1.3 mm dust continuum emission at a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of ≥5. Methods: We used the deep, subarcsecond-resolution (1σ = 2.3μJy beam-1;." 75) centimetre radio continuum observations taken by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA)-COSMOS 3 GHz Large Project. Results: One hundred and fifteen of the 152 target SMGs (76% ± 7%) were found to have a 3 GHz counterpart (≥ 4.2σ), which renders the radio detection rate notably high. The median value of the deconvolved major axis full width at half maximum (FWHM) size at 3 GHz is derived to be 0."59 ± 0."05, or 4.6 ± 0.4 kpc in physical units, where the median redshift of the sources is z = 2.23 ± 0.13 (23% are spectroscopic and 77% are photometric values). The radio sizes are roughly log-normally distributed, and they show no evolutionary trend with redshift, or difference between different galaxy morphologies. We also derived the spectral indices between 1.4 and 3 GHz, and 3 GHz brightness temperatures for the sources, and the median values were found to be α1.4GHz3GHz = -0.67 (Sν ∝ να) and TB = 12.6 ± 2 K. Three of the target SMGs, which are also detected with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.4 GHz (AzTEC/C24b, 61, and 77a), show clearly higher brightness temperatures than the typical values, reaching TB(3 GHz) > 104.03 K for AzTEC/C61. Conclusions: The derived median radio spectral index agrees with a value expected for optically thin non-thermal synchrotron radiation, and the low median 3 GHz brightness temperature shows that the observed radio emission is predominantly powered by star formation and supernova activity. However, our results provide a strong indication of the presence of an active galactic nucleus in the VLBA and X-ray-detected SMG AzTEC/C61 (high TB and an inverted radio spectrum). The median radio-emitting size we have derived is ~ 1.5-3 times larger than the typical far-infrared dust-emitting sizes of SMGs, but similar to that of the SMGs' molecular gas component traced through mid-J line emission of carbon monoxide. The physical conditions of SMGs probably render the diffusion of cosmic-ray electrons inefficient, and hence an unlikely process to lead to the observed extended radio sizes. Instead, our results point towards a scenario where SMGs are driven by galaxy interactions and mergers. Besides triggering vigorous starbursts, galaxy collisions can also pull out the magnetised fluids from the interacting disks, and give rise to a taffy-like synchrotron-emitting bridge. This provides an explanation for the spatially extended radio emission of SMGs, and can also cause a deviation from the well-known infrared-radio correlation owing to an excess radio emission. Nevertheless, further high-resolution observations are required to examine the other potential reasons for the very compact dust-emitting sizes of SMGs, such as the radial dust temperature and metallicity gradients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the composition of the faint radio population selected from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array Cosmic Evolution Survey (VLA-COSMOS) 3 GHz Large Project, which is a radio continuum survey performed at 10 cm wavelength. The survey covers a 2.6 square degree area with a mean rms of ~2:3 μJy/beam, cataloging 10 830 sources above 5σ, and enclosing the full 2 square degree COSMOS field. By combining these radio data with optical, near-infrared (UltraVISTA), and mid-infrared (Spitzer/IRAC) data, as well as X-ray data (Chandra), we find counterparts to radio sources for ~93% of the total radio sample reaching out to z ≲ 6; these sources are found in the unmasked areas of the COSMOS field, i.e., those not affected by saturated or bright sources in the optical to near-infrared (NIR) bands. We further classify the sources as star-forming galaxies or AGN based on various criteria, such as X-ray luminosity; observed mid-infrared color; UV-far-infrared spectral energy distribution; rest-frame, near-UV optical color that is corrected for dust extinction; and radio excess relative to that expected from the star formation rate of the hosts. We separate the AGN into subsamples dominated by low-to-moderate and moderate-to-high radiative luminosity AGN, i.e., candidates for highredshift analogs to local low- and high-excitation emission line AGN, respectively. We study the fractional contributions of these subpopulations down to radio flux levels of ~11 μJy at 3 GHz (or ~20 μJy at 1.4 GHz assuming a spectral index of -0.7). We find that the dominant fraction at 1.4 GHz flux densities above ~200 μJy is constituted of low-to-moderate radiative luminosity AGN. Below densities of ~100 μJy the fraction of star-forming galaxies increases to ~60%, followed by the moderate-to-high radiative luminosity AGN (~20%) and low-to-moderate radiative luminosity AGN (~20%). Based on this observational evidence, we extrapolate the fractions down to sensitivities of the Square Kilometer Array (SKA). Our estimates suggest that at the faint flux limits to be reached by the (Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep) SKA1 surveys, a selection based only on radio flux limits can provide a simple tool to efficiently identify samples highly (>75%) dominated by star-forming galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We make use of the deep Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) COSMOS radio observations at 3 GHz to infer radio luminosity functions of star-forming galaxies up to redshifts of z ~ 5 based on approximately 6000 detections with reliable optical counterparts. This is currently the largest radio-selected sample available out to z ~ 5 across an area of 2 square degrees with a sensitivity of rms ≈2:3 μJy beam-1. By fixing the faint and bright end shape of the radio luminosity function to the local values, we find a strong redshift trend that can be fitted with a pure luminosity evolution L1.4 GHz ∝ (1 + z)(3:16±0:2)-(0:32±0:07)z. We estimate star formation rates (SFRs) from our radio luminosities using an infrared (IR)-radio correlation that is redshift dependent. By integrating the parametric fits of the evolved luminosity function we calculate the cosmic SFR density (SFRD) history since z ~ 5. Our data suggest that the SFRD history peaks between 2 < z < 3 and that the ultraluminous infrared galaxies (100 M⊙ yr-1 < SFR < 1000 M⊙ yr-1) contribute up to ~25% to the total SFRD in the same redshift range. Hyperluminous infrared galaxies (SFR > 1000 M⊙ yr-1) contribute an additional ≲2% in the entire observed redshift range. We find evidence of a potential underestimation of SFRD based on ultraviolet (UV) rest-frame observations of Lyman break galaxies at high redshifts (z & 4) on the order of 15-20%, owing to appreciable star formation in highly dust-obscured galaxies, which might remain undetected in such UV observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the behaviour of the infrared-radio correlation (IRRC) over the range 0 < z ≲ 6 using new, highly sensitive 3 GHz observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and infrared data from the Herschel Space Observatory in the 2 deg2 COSMOS field. We distinguish between objects where emission is believed to arise solely from star-formation, and those where an active galactic nucleus (AGN) is thought to be present. We account for non-detections in the radio or in the infrared using a doublycensored survival analysis. We find that the IRRC of star-forming galaxies, quantified by the infrared-to-1.4 GHz radio luminosity ratio (qTIR), decreases with increasing redshift: qTIR(z) = (2:88 ± 0:03)(1 + z)-0:19±0:01. This is consistent with several previous results from the literature. Moderate-to-high radiative luminosity AGN do not follow the same qTIR(z) trend as star-forming galaxies, having a lower normalisation and steeper decrease with redshift. We cannot rule out the possibility that unidentified AGN contributions only to the radio regime may be steepening the observed qTIR(z) trend of the star-forming galaxy population. We demonstrate that the choice of the average radio spectral index directly affects the normalisation, as well as the derived trend with redshift of the IRRC. An increasing fractional contribution to the observed 3 GHz flux by free-free emission of star-forming galaxies may also affect the derived evolution. However, we find that the standard (M82-based) assumption of the typical radio spectral energy distribution (SED) for star-forming galaxies is inconsistent with our results. This suggests a more complex shape of the typical radio SED for star-forming galaxies, and that imperfect K corrections in the radio may govern the derived trend of decreasing qTIR with increasing redshift. A more detailed understanding of the radio spectrum is therefore required for robust K corrections in the radio and to fully understand the cosmic evolution of the IRRC. Lastly, we present a redshift-dependent relation between rest-frame 1.4 GHz radio luminosity and star formation rate taking the derived redshift trend into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the environment of 23 submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) drawn from a signal-to-noise (S/N)-limited sample of SMGs originally discovered in the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT)/AzTEC 1.1 mm continuum survey of a Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) subfield and then followed up with the Submillimetre Array and Plateau de Bure Interferometer at 890 μm and 1.3 mm, respectively. These SMGs already have well-defined multiwavelength counterparts and redshifts. We also analyse the environments of four COSMOS SMGs spectroscopically confirmed to lie at redshifts zspec > 4:5, and one at zspec = 2:49 resulting in a total SMG sample size of 28. We search for overdensities using the COSMOS photometric redshifts based on over 30 UV-NIR photometric measurements including the new UltraVISTA data release 2 and Spitzer/SPLASH data, and reaching an accuracy of σ▵ z=(1+z) = 0:0067 (0:0155) at z < 3:5 (>3.5). To identify overdensities we apply the Voronoi tessellation analysis, and estimate the redshift-space overdensity estimator δg as a function of distance from the SMG and/or overdensity centre. We test and validate our approach via simulations, X-ray detected groups or clusters, and spectroscopic verifications using VUDS and zCOSMOS catalogues which show that even with photometric redshifts in the COSMOS field we can efficiently retrieve overdensities out to z ≈ 5. Our results yield that 11 out of 23 (48%) JCMT/AzTEC 1.1 mm SMGs occupy overdense environments. Considering the entire JCMT/AzTEC 1.1 mm S=N ⩾ 4 sample and taking the expected fraction of spurious detections into account, this means that 35-61% of the SMGs in the S/N-limited sample occupy overdense environments. We perform an X-ray stacking analysis in the 0.5-2 keV band using a 3200 aperture and our SMG positions, and find statistically significant detections. For our z < 2 subsample we find an average flux of (4:0 ± 0:8) x 10-16 erg s-1 cm-2 and a corresponding total mass of M200 = 2:8 x 1013 M⊙. The z > 2 subsample yields an average flux of (1:3 ± 0:5) x 10-16 erg s-1 cm-2 and a corresponding total mass of M200 = 2 x 1013 M⊙. Our results suggest a higher occurrence of SMGs occupying overdense environments at z ⩾ 3 than at z < 3. This may be understood if highly star-forming galaxies can only be formed in the highest peaks of the density field tracing the most massive dark matter haloes at early cosmic epochs, while at later times cosmic structure may have matured sufficiently that more modest overdensities correspond to sufficiently massive haloes to form SMGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavily obscured, Compton thick (CT, NH > 1024 cm-2) active galactic nuclei (AGN) may represent an important phase in AGN/galaxy co-evolution and are expected to provide a significant contribution to the cosmic X-ray background at its peak. However, unambiguously identifying CT AGN beyond the local Universe is a challenging task even in the deepest X-ray surveys, and given the expected low spatial density of these sources in the 2-10 keV band, large area surveys are needed to collect sizable samples. Through direct X-ray spectra analysis, we selected 39 heavily obscured AGN (NH > 3 × 1023 cm-2) at bright X-ray fluxes (F2-10 ≳ 10-14 erg s-1 cm-2) in the 2 deg² XMM-COSMOS survey. After selecting CT AGN based on the fit of a simple absorbed two power law model to the shallow XMM-Newton data, the presence of bona fide CT AGN was confirmed in 80% of the sources using deeper Chandra data and more complex models. The final sample comprises ten CT AGN (six of them also have a detected Fe Ka line with EW ~ 1 keV), spanning a wide range of redshifts (z ~ 0.1-2.5) and luminosity (L2-10 ~ 1043.5-1045 erg s-1) and is complemented by 29 heavily obscured AGN spanning the same redshift and luminosity range. We collected the rich multi-wavelength information available for all these sources, in order to study the distribution of super massive black hole and host properties, such as black hole mass (MBH), Eddington ratio (λEdd), stellar mass (M*), specific star formation rate (sSFR) in comparison with a sample of unobscured AGN. We find that highly obscured sources tend to have significantly smaller MBH and higher λEdd with respect to unobscured sources, while a weaker evolution in M* is observed. The sSFR of highly obscured sources is consistent with the one observed in the main sequence of star forming galaxies, at all redshifts. We also present and briefly discuss optical spectra, broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) and morphology for the sample of ten CT AGN. Both the optical spectra and SED agree with the classification as highly obscured sources: all the available optical spectra are dominated by the stellar component of the host galaxy, and to reproduce the broadband SED, a highly obscured torus component is needed for all the CT sources. Exploiting the high resolution Hubble-ACS images available, we are able to show that these highly obscured sources have a significantly larger merger fraction with respect to other X-ray selected samples of AGN. Finally we discuss the implications of our findings in the context of AGN/galaxy co-evolutionary models, and compare our results with the predictions of X-ray background synthesis models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray surveys contain sizable numbers of star forming galaxies, beyond the AGN which usually make the majority of detections. Many methods to separate the two populations are used in the literature, based on X-ray and multiwavelength properties. We aim at a detailed test of the classification schemes and to study the X-ray properties of the resulting samples. We build on a sample of galaxies selected at 1.4 GHz in the VLA-COSMOS survey, classified by Smolčić et al. (2008, ApiS, 177, 14) according to their optical colours and observed with Chandra. A similarly selected control sample of AGN is also used for comparison. We review some X-ray based classification criteria and check how they affect the sample composition. The efficiency of the classification scheme devised by Smolčić et al. is such that ∼30% of composite/misclassified objects are expected because of the higher X-ray brightness of AGN with respect to galaxies. The latter fraction is actually 50% in the X-ray detected sources, while it is expected to be much lower among X-ray undetected sources. Indeed, the analysis of the stacked spectrum of undetected sources shows, consistently, strongly different properties between the AGN and galaxy samples. X-ray based selection criteria are then used to refine both samples. The radio/X-ray luminosity correlation for star forming galaxies is found to hold with the same X-ray/radio ratio valid for nearby galaxies. Some evolution of the ratio may be possible for sources at high redshift or high luminosity, tough it is likely explained by a bias arising from the radio selection. Finally, we discuss the X-ray number counts of star forming galaxies from the VLA- and C-COSMOS surveys according to different selection criteria, and compare them to the similar determination from the Chandra deep fields. The classification scheme proposed here may find application in future works and surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]