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In this work, we use 8 years of deep near-infrared imaging to select and study a new set of 601 active galaxies identified through long-term near-infrared (NIR) variability in the UKIDSS Ultra Deep Survey (UDS). These objects are compared to 710 X-ray bright Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) detected by the Chandra X-ray observatory. We show that infrared variability and X-ray emission select distinct sets of active galaxies, finding only a 37 per cent overlap of galaxies detected by both techniques and confirming NIR-variable AGN to be typically X-ray quiet. Examining the mass functions of the active galaxies shows that NIR variability detects AGN activity in galaxies over a significantly wider range of host stellar mass compared to X-ray detection. For example, at z ∼ 1, variable AGN are identified among approximately 1 per cent of galaxies in a roughly flat distribution above the stellar mass completeness limit (⁠|$\gt 10^{9}\rm \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$|⁠), while X-ray detection primarily identifies AGN in galaxies of higher mass (⁠|$\gt 10^{10}\rm \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$|⁠). We conclude that long-term near-infrared variability provides an important new tool for obtaining more complete samples of AGN in deep survey fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The automatic classification of X-ray detections is a necessary step in extracting astrophysical information from compiled catalogues of astrophysical sources. Classification is useful for the study of individual objects, statistics for population studies, as well as for anomaly detection, that is, the identification of new unexplored phenomena, including transients and spectrally extreme sources. Despite the importance of this task, classification remains challenging in X-ray astronomy due to the lack of optical counterparts and representative training sets. We develop an alternative methodology that employs an unsupervised machine learning approach to provide probabilistic classes to Chandra Source Catalog sources with a limited number of labelled sources, and without ancillary information from optical and infrared catalogues. We provide a catalogue of probabilistic classes for 8756 sources, comprising a total of 14 507 detections, and demonstrate the success of the method at identifying emission from young stellar objects, as well as distinguishing between small- and large-scale compact accretors with a significant level of confidence. We investigate the consistency between the distribution of features among classified objects and well-established astrophysical hypotheses such as the unified active galactic nucleus model. This provides interpretability to the probabilistic classifier. Code and tables are available publicly through GitHub. We provide a web playground for readers to explore our final classification at https://umlcaxs-playground.streamlit.app. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of jet-inflated X-ray cavities provides a powerful insight into the energetics of hot galactic atmospheres and radio-mechanical AGN feedback. By estimating the volumes of X-ray cavities, the total energy and thus also the corresponding mechanical jet power required for their inflation can be derived. Properly estimating their total extent is, however, non-trivial, prone to biases, nearly impossible for poor-quality data, and so far has been done manually by scientists. We present a novel machine-learning pipeline called Cavity Detection Tool (CADET), developed as an assistive tool that detects and estimates the sizes of X-ray cavities from raw Chandra images. The pipeline consists of a convolutional neural network trained for producing pixel-wise cavity predictions and a DBSCAN clustering algorithm, which decomposes the predictions into individual cavities. The convolutional network was trained using mock observations of early-type galaxies simulated to resemble real noisy Chandra -like images. The network's performance has been tested on simulated data obtaining an average cavity volume error of 14 per cent at an 89 per cent true-positive rate. For simulated images without any X-ray cavities inserted, we obtain a 5 per cent false-positive rate. When applied to real Chandra images, the pipeline recovered 93 out of 97 previously known X-ray cavities in nearby early-type galaxies and all 14 cavities in chosen galaxy clusters. Besides that, the CADET pipeline discovered seven new cavity pairs in atmospheres of early-type galaxies (IC 4765, NGC 533, NGC 2300, NGC 3091, NGC 4073, NGC 4125, and NGC 5129) and a number of potential cavity candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complete demographic of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is essential to understand the evolution of the Universe. Optical surveys estimate the population of AGNs in the local Universe to be of ∼ 4 per cent. However, these results could be biased towards bright sources, not affected by the host galaxy attenuation. An alternative method for detecting these objects is through the X-ray emission. In this work, we aim to complement the AGN population of the optical CALIFA survey (941 sources), by using X-ray data from Chandra , which provides the best spatial resolution to date, essential to isolate the nuclear emission from the host galaxy. We study a total of 138 sources with available data. We find 34 new bona fide AGNs and 23 AGN candidates, which could increase the AGN population to 7–10  per cent among the CALIFA survey. X-rays are particularly useful for low-luminosity AGNs since they are excluded by the criterion of large equivalent width of the |$\rm {H\alpha }$| emission line when applied to optical selections. Indeed, placing such a restrictive criteria might cause a loss of up to 70 per cent of AGN sources. X-ray detected sources are preferentially located in the right side of the [ |${\mathrm{O}}\, {\small {\rm III}}$| ]/Hβ versus [ |${\mathrm{N}}\, {\small {\rm II}}$| ]/Hα diagram, suggesting that this diagram might be the most reliable at classifying AGN sources. Our results support the idea that multiwavelength studies are the best way to obtain a complete AGN population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observations from X-ray to mid-infrared wavelengths of the most energetic non-quasar transient ever observed, AT2021lwx. Our data show a single optical brightening by a factor >100 to a luminosity of 7 × 1045 erg s−1 and a total radiated energy of 1.5 × 1053 erg, both greater than any known optical transient. The decline is smooth and exponential and the ultraviolet–optical spectral energy distribution resembles a blackbody with a temperature of 1.2 × 104 K. Tentative X-ray detections indicate a secondary mode of emission, while a delayed mid-infrared flare points to the presence of dust surrounding the transient. The spectra are similar to recently discovered optical flares in known active galactic nuclei but lack some characteristic features. The lack of emission for the previous 7 yr is inconsistent with the short-term, stochastic variability observed in quasars, while the extreme luminosity and long time-scale of the transient disfavour the disruption of a single solar-mass star. The luminosity could be generated by the disruption of a much more massive star, but the likelihood of such an event occurring is small. A plausible scenario is the accretion of a giant molecular cloud by a dormant black hole of 108–109 solar masses. AT2021lwx thus represents an extreme extension of the known scenarios of black hole accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a study of optically selected dual Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) with projected separations of 3–97 kpc. Using multiwavelength (MWL) information (optical, X-ray, mid-IR), we characterized the intrinsic nuclear properties of this sample and compared them with those of isolated systems. Among the 124 X-ray-detected AGN candidates, 52 appear in pairs and 72 as single X-ray sources. Through MWL analysis, we confirmed the presence of the AGN in >80 per cent of the detected targets in pairs (42 out of 52). X-ray spectral analysis confirms the trend of increasing AGN luminosity with decreasing separation, suggesting that mergers may have contributed to triggering more luminous AGN. Through X-ray/mid-IR ratio versus X-ray colours, we estimated a fraction of Compton-thin AGN (with 1022 cm−2 < N H < 1024 cm−2) of about 80 per cent, while about 16 per cent are Compton-thick sources (with N H > 1024 cm−2). These fractions of obscured sources are larger than those found in samples of isolated AGN, confirming that pairs of AGN show higher obscuration. This trend is further confirmed by comparing the de-reddened [O  iii ] emission with the observed X-ray luminosity. However, the derived fraction of Compton-thick sources in this sample at the early stages of merging is lower than that reported for late-merging dual-AGN samples. Comparing N H from X-rays with that derived from E (B − V) from narrow-line regions, we found that the absorbing material is likely to be associated with the torus or broad-line regions. We also explored the X-ray detection efficiency of dual-AGN candidates, finding that, when observed properly (at on-axis positions and with long exposures), X-ray data represent a powerful way to confirm and investigate dual-AGN systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine Chandra observations of the powerful Fanaroff–Riley class II (FR II) radio galaxy Cygnus A for an X-ray counterpart to the radio transient Cygnus A-2 that was first detected in 2011. Observations are performed using the High-Resolution Camera (HRC) instrument in order to spatially resolve Cygnus A-2 and the central active galactic nucleus (AGN) at a separation of  0.′′42. Simulated images are generated of the emission region, and radial profiles for the region of interest are extracted. A comparison between the simulations and observations reveals no X-ray detection of Cygnus A-2 to a 0.5–7.0 keV flux upper limit of |$1.04 \times 10^{-12}\rm \, erg\, cm^{-2}\, s^{-1}$|⁠ , or a rest-frame 2–10 keV luminosity of |$8.6\times 10^{42}\rm \, erg\, s^{-1}$|⁠. We estimate the black hole mass of Cygnus A-2 based on our X-ray flux limit and find it to be consistent with a flaring black hole rather than a steadily accreting source. The HRC observations are additionally compared with archival Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) data from 2016 to 2017, and both the overall morphology and the flux limits of the AGN complex agree between the two data sets. This consistency is despite the pile-up effect in ACIS which was previously considered to bias the observed morphology of the AGN. The agreement between the data sets demonstrates the viability of utilizing the archival Chandra data of Cygnus A to analyse its AGN at an unprecedented level of precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reionization-era galaxies often display intense nebular emission lines, both in rest-frame optical ([O  iii ] + H β) and ultraviolet (UV; C  iii ], C  iv). How such strong nebular emission is powered remains unclear, with both active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and hot stars considered equally viable. The UV continuum slopes of these early systems tend to be very blue (β < −2), reflecting minimal dust obscuration, young ages, and low metallicities. This contrasts with narrow-lined AGNs at |$z$| ∼ 2−3, whose UV slopes are significantly redder (β > −1) than typical star-forming systems in the reionization era. To investigate the properties of AGNs in the reionization era, we have conducted a search for potential examples of rare analogues with blue continua at intermediate redshift (⁠|$z$| ∼ 2−3). Our goals are to determine whether AGNs with intense line emission and blue continua exist and thereby to establish the range of rest-frame UV and optical line ratios in this population. In this paper, we report the detection of an X-ray luminous AGN at |$z$|  = 3.21 (UDS-24561) with extreme [O  iii ] + H β line emission (equivalent width = 1300 Å) and a blue UV continuum slope (β = −2.34). MMT/Binospec and Keck/MOSFIRE spectra indicate rest-frame UV line ratios consistent with AGN photoionization models and rest-frame optical lines with both a narrow component [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) |$=154\, {\rm km\, s}^{-1}$| ] and extended broad wings (FWHM |$=977\, {\rm km\, s}^{-1}$|⁠), consistent with outflowing gas. We describe how such objects can be identified in future James Webb Space Telescope emission line surveys in the reionization era, thereby providing a valuable census of AGN activity at |$z$| > 6 and understanding their contribution to cosmic reionization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galaxy mergers are predicted to trigger accretion on to the central supermassive black holes, with the highest rates occurring during final coalescence. Previously, we have shown elevated rates of both optical and mid-IR selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in post-mergers, but to date the prevalence of X-ray AGNs has not been examined in the same systematic way. We present XMM–Newton data of 43 post-merger galaxies selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey along with 430 non-interacting control galaxies matched in stellar mass, redshift, and environment in order to test for an excess of hard X-ray (2–10 keV) emission in post-mergers attributable to triggered AGNs. We find two X-ray detections in the post-mergers (⁠|$4.7^{+9.3}_{-3.8}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠) and nine in the controls (⁠|$2.1^{+1.5}_{-1.0}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$|⁠), an excess of |$2.22^{+4.44}_{-2.22}$|⁠ , where the confidence intervals are 90 per cent. While, we therefore do not find statistically significant evidence for an X-ray AGN excess in post-mergers (p  = 0.26), we find a factor of ∼17 excess of mid-IR AGNs in our sample, consistent with the past work and inconsistent with the observed X-ray excess (p  = 2.7 × 10−4). Dominant, luminous AGNs are therefore more frequent in post-mergers, and the lack of a comparable excess of 2–10 keV X-ray AGNs suggests that AGNs in post-mergers are more likely to be heavily obscured. Our results are consistent with the post-merger stage being characterized by enhanced AGN fueling, heavy AGN obscuration, and more intrinsically luminous AGN, in line with theoretical predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new X-ray observations of luminous heavily dust-reddened quasars (HRQs) selected from infrared (IR) sky surveys. HRQs appear to be a dominant population at high redshifts and the highest luminosities, and may be associated with a transitional 'blowout' phase of black hole and galaxy co-evolution models. Despite this, their high-energy properties have been poorly known. We use the overall sample of 10 objects with XMM–Newton coverage to study the high-energy properties of HRQs at $\langle$ Lbol $\rangle$  =1047.5 erg s−1 and $\langle$ z $\rangle$  =2.5. For seven sources with strong X-ray detections, we perform spectral analyses. These find a median X-ray luminosity of $\left\langle L_{\rm 2\!-\!10\, keV} \right\rangle = 10^{45.1}$  erg s−1, comparable to the most powerful X-ray quasars known. The gas column densities are NH = (1–8) × 1022 cm−2, in agreement with the amount of dust extinction observed. The dust-to-gas ratios are sub-Galactic, but are higher than found in local AGN. The intrinsic X-ray luminosities of HRQs are weak compared to the mid-IR ($L_{\rm 6\, \mu m}$) and bolometric luminosities (Lbol), in agreement with findings for other luminous quasar samples. For instance, the X-ray to bolometric corrections range from κbol ≈ 50 to 3000. The moderate absorption levels and accretion rates close to the Eddington limit ($\langle$ λEdd $\rangle$  =1.06) are in agreement with a quasar blowout phase. Indeed, we find that the HRQs lie in the forbidden region of the NH–λEdd plane, and therefore that radiation pressure feedback on the dusty interstellar medium may be driving a phase of blowout that has been ongoing for a few 105 yr. The wider properties, including [O iii] narrow-line region kinematics, broadly agree with this interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We model the X-ray surface brightness distribution of emission associated with Fanaroff & Riley type-II radio galaxies. Our approach builds on the RAiSE dynamical model which describes broad-band radio frequency synchrotron evolution of jet-inflated lobes in a wide range of environments. The X-ray version of the model presented here includes: (1) inverse-Compton upscattering of cosmic microwave background radiation; (2) the dynamics of the shocked gas shell and associated bremsstrahlung radiation; and (3) emission from the surrounding ambient medium. We construct X-ray surface brightness maps for a mock catalogue of extended FR-IIs based on the technical characteristics of the eRosita telescope. The integrated X-ray luminosity function at low redshifts (z ≤ 1) is found to strongly correlate with the density of the ambient medium in all but the most energetic sources, whilst at high-redshift (z > 1) the majority of objects are dominated by inverse-Compton lobe emission due to the stronger cosmic microwave background radiation. By inspecting our mock spatial brightness distributions, we conclude that any extended X-ray detection can be attributed to AGN activity at redshifts z ≥ 1. We compare the expected detection rates of active and remnant high-redshift radio AGNs for eRosita and LOFAR , and future more sensitive surveys. We find that a factor of ten more remnants can be detected using X-ray wavelengths over radio frequencies at z > 2.2, increasing to a factor of 100 for redshifts z > 3.1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work is to study the obscuration properties of mid-infrared (mid-IR)-selected active galactic nuclei (AGN). For that purpose, we use Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) sources in the Stripe 82– XMM area to identify mid-IR AGN candidates, applying the Assef et al. criteria. Stripe 82 has optical photometry ≈2 times deeper than any single-epoch Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) region. XMM–Newton observations cover ∼26 deg2. Applying the aforementioned criteria, 1946 IR AGN are selected. |${\sim} 78{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| have SDSS detection, while 1/3 of them are detected in X-rays, at a flux limit of |$\rm {\sim} 5 \times 10^{-15}\, erg\, s^{-1}\, cm^{-2}$|⁠. Our final sample consists of 507 IR AGN with X-ray detection and optical spectra. Applying a |$r-W2 > 6$| colour criterion, we find that the fraction of optically red AGN drop from 43 per cent for those sources with SDSS detection to |$23{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| for sources that also have X-ray detection. X-ray spectral fitting reveals 40 (⁠|${\sim} 8{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$|⁠) X-ray absorbed AGN (⁠|$N_\mathrm{ H} > 10^{22}\,{\rm cm}^{-2}$|⁠). Among the X-ray unabsorbed AGN, there are 70 red systems. To further investigate the absorption of these sources, we construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for the total IR AGN sample. SED fitting reveals that |${\sim} 20{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| of the optically red sources have such colours because the galaxy emission is a primary component in the optical part of the SED, even though the AGN emission is not absorbed at these wavelengths. SED fitting also confirms that |$12{{\, \rm per\, cent}}$| of the X-ray unabsorbed IR AGN are optically obscured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the detection of high-amplitude X-ray flaring of the AGN HE 1136-2304, which is accompanied by a strong increase in the flux of the broad Balmer lines, changing its Seyfert type from almost type 2 in 1993 down to 1.5 in 2014. HE 1136-2304 was detected by the XMM-Newton slew survey at >10 times the flux it had in the ROSAT all-sky survey, and confirmed with Swift follow-up after increasing in X-ray flux by a factor of ~30. Optical spectroscopy with SALT shows that the AGN has changed from a Seyfert 1.95 to a Seyfert 1.5 galaxy, with greatly increased broad line emission and an increase in blue continuum AGN flux by a factor of >4. The X-ray spectra from XMM-Newton and NuSTAR reveal moderate intrinsic absorption and a high energy cutoff at ~100 keV. We consider several different physical scenarios for a flare, such as changes in obscuring material, tidal disruption events, and an increase in the accretion rate. We find that the most likely cause of the increased flux is an increase in the accretion rate, although it could also be due to a change in obscuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigate the relationship between the star formation rate (SFR) and AGN luminosity (LAGN) for ~2000 X-ray detected AGN. The AGN span over three orders of magnitude in X-ray luminosity (1042 < L2-8keV < 1045.5 erg s-1) and are in the redshift range z = 0.2-2.5. Using infrared (IR) photometry (8-500 μm), including deblended Spitzer and Herschel images and taking into account photometric upper limits, we decompose the IR spectral energy distributions into AGN and star formation components. Using the IR luminosities due to star formation, we investigate the average SFRs as a function of redshift and AGN luminosity. In agreement with previous studies, we find a strong evolution of the average SFR with redshift, tracking the observed evolution of the overall star-forming galaxy population. However, we find that the relationship between the average SFR and AGN luminosity is broadly flat at all redshifts and across all the AGN luminosities investigated; in comparison to previous studies, we find less scatter amongst the average SFRs across the wide range of AGN luminosities investigated. By comparing to empirical models, we argue that the observed flat relationship is due to short time-scale variations in AGN luminosity, driven by changes in the mass accretion rate, which wash out any underlying correlations between SFR and LAGN. Furthermore, we show that the exact form of the predicted relationship between SFR and AGN luminosity (and its normalization) is highly sensitive to the assumed intrinsic Eddington ratio distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present X-shooter at Very Large Telescope observations of a sample of 10 luminous, X-ray obscured quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) at z ~ 1.5 from the XMM-COSMOS survey, expected to be caught in the transitioning phase from starburst to active galactic nucleus (AGN)-dominated systems. The main selection criterion is X-ray detection at bright fluxes (LX 1044 erg s-1) coupled to red optical-to-near-infrared-to-mid-infrared colours. Thanks to its large wavelength coverage, X-shooter allowed us to determine accurate redshifts from the presence of multiple emission lines for five out of six targets for which we had only a photometric redshift estimate, with an 80 per cent success rate, significantly larger than what is observed in similar programs of spectroscopic follow-up of red QSOs. We report the detection of broad and shifted components in the [OIII] ƛƛ5007, 4959 complexes for six out of eight sources with these lines observable in regions free from strong atmospheric absorptions. The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) associated with the broad components are in the range FWHM ~ 900-1600 km s-1, larger than the average value observed in Sloan Digital Sky Survey type 2 AGN samples at similar observed [OIII] luminosity, but comparable to those observed for QSO/ultraluminous infrared galaxies systems for which the presence of kpc scale outflows has been revealed through integral field unit spectroscopy. Although the total outflow energetics (inferred under reasonable assumptions) may be consistent with winds accelerated by stellar processes, we favour an AGN origin for the outflows given the high outflow velocities observed (v > 1000 km s-1) and the presence of strong winds also in objects undetected in the far-infrared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a large-scale study of the X-ray properties and near-IR-to-radio spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) detected at 1.1 mm with the AzTEC instrument across a ∼1.2 square degree area of the sky. Combining deep 2–4 Ms Chandra data with Spitzer IRAC/MIPS and Very Large Array data within the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North (GOODS-N), GOODS-S and COSMOS fields, we find evidence for active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity in ∼14 per cent of 271 AzTEC SMGs, ∼28 per cent considering only the two GOODS fields. Through X-ray spectral modelling and multiwavelength SED fitting using Monte Carlo Markov chain techniques to Siebenmorgen et al. (AGN) and Efstathiou, Rowan-Robinson & Siebenmorgen (starburst) templates, we find that while star formation dominates the IR emission, with star formation rates (SFRs) ∼100–1000 M⊙ yr−1, the X-ray emission for most sources is almost exclusively from obscured AGNs, with column densities in excess of 1023 cm−2. Only for ∼6 per cent of our sources do we find an X-ray-derived SFR consistent with NIR-to-radio SED derived SFRs. Inclusion of the X-ray luminosities as a prior to the NIR-to-radio SED effectively sets the AGN luminosity and SFR, preventing significant contribution from the AGN template. Our SED modelling further shows that the AGN and starburst templates typically lack the required 1.1 mm emission necessary to match observations, arguing for an extended, cool dust component. The cross-correlation function between the full samples of X-ray sources and SMGs in these fields does not indicate a strong correlation between the two populations at large scales, suggesting that SMGs and AGNs do not necessarily trace the same underlying large-scale structure. Combined with the remaining X-ray-dim SMGs, this suggests that sub-mm-bright sources may evolve along multiple tracks, with X-ray-detected SMGs representing transitionary objects between periods of high star formation and AGN activity, while X-ray-faint SMGs represent a brief starburst phase of more normal galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]