Search

We use photometric data from Spitzer to explore the mid- and far-IR properties of 10 red QSOs (J-K>2, R-K>5) selected by combining the 2MASS in the NIR with the SDSS at optical wavelengths. Optical and/or near-infrared spectra are available for 8/10 sources. Modeling the SED from UV to far-IR shows that moderate dust reddening (A_V=1.3-3.2) can explain the red optical and near-IR colours of the sources in the sample. There is also evidence that red QSOs have 60/12micron luminosity ratio higher than PG QSOs (97% significance). This can be interpreted as a higher level of star-formation in these systems (measured by the 60micron luminosity) for a given AGN power (approximated by the 12micron luminosity). This is consistent with a picture where red QSOs represent an early phase of AGN evolution, when the supermassive black hole is enshrouded in dust and gas clouds, which will eventually be blown out (possibly by AGN driven outflows) and the system will appear as typical optically luminous QSO. There is also tentative evidence significant at the 96% level that red 2MASS QSOs are more often associated with radio emission than optically selected SDSS QSOs. This may indicate outflows, also consistent with the young AGN interpretation. We also estimate the space density of red QSOs relative to optically selected SDSS QSOs, taking into account the effect of dust extinction and the intrinsic luminosity of the sources. We estimate that the fraction of red QSOs in the overall population increases from 3% at M_K=-27.5mag to 12% at M_K=-29.5mag. This suggests that reddened QSOs become more important at the bright end of the Luminosity Function. If red QSOs are transition objects on the way to becoming typical optically luminous QSOs, the low fractions above suggest that these systems spent <12% of their lifetime at the "reddened" stage., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS

We present the AEGIS-X survey, a series of deep Chandra ACIS-I observations of the Extended Groth Strip. The survey comprises pointings at 8 separate positions, each with nominal exposure 200ks, covering a total area of approximately 0.67 deg2 in a strip of length 2 degrees. We describe in detail an updated version of our data reduction and point source detection algorithms used to analyze these data. A total of 1325 band-merged sources have been found to a Poisson probability limit of 4e-6, with limiting fluxes of 5.3e-17 erg/cm2/s in the soft (0.5-2 keV) band and 3.8e-16 erg/cm2/s in the hard (2-10 keV) band. We present simulations verifying the validity of our source detection procedure and showing a very small, <1.5%, contamination rate from spurious sources. Optical/NIR counterparts have been identified from the DEEP2, CFHTLS, and Spitzer/IRAC surveys of the same region. Using a likelihood ratio method, we find optical counterparts for 76% of our sources, complete to R(AB)=24.1, and, of the 66% of the sources that have IRAC coverage, 94% have a counterpart to a limit of 0.9 microJy at 3.6 microns (m(AB)=23.8). After accounting for (small) positional offsets in the 8 Chandra fields, the astrometric accuracy of the Chandra positions is found to be 0.8 arcsec RMS, however this number depends both on the off-axis angle and the number of detected counts for a given source. All the data products described in this paper are made available via a public website., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJS. Data products are available at http://astro.imperial.ac.uk/research/aegis/

We explore the role of the group environment in the evolution of AGN at the redshift interval 0.7

We present a new method for determining the sensitivity of X-ray imaging observations, which correctly accounts for the observational biases that affect the probability of detecting a source of a given X-ray flux, without the need to perform a large number of time consuming simulations. We use this new technique to estimate the X-ray source counts in different spectral bands (0.5-2, 0.5-10, 2-10 and 5-10keV) by combining deep pencil-beam and shallow wide-area Chandra observations. The sample has a total of 6295 unique sources over an area of $\rm 11.8deg^2$ and is the largest used to date to determine the X-ray number counts. We determine, for the first time, the break flux in the 5-10 keV band, in the case of a double power-law source count distribution. We also find an upturn in the 0.5-2keV counts at fluxes below about 6e-17erg/s/cm2. We show that this can be explained by the emergence of normal star-forming galaxies which dominate the X-ray population at faint fluxes. The fraction of the diffuse X-ray background resolved into point sources at different spectral bands is also estimated. It is argued that a single population of Compton thick AGN cannot be responsible for the entire unresolved X-ray background in the energy range 2-10keV., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Data products available at http://astro.imperial.ac.uk/research/xray/

The efficiency of mid-infrared selection methods for finding obscured AGN is investigated using data in the \chandra Deep Field North. It is shown that samples of AGN candidates compiled on the basis of mid-infrared colours only suffer substantial contamination from normal galaxies. X-ray stacking analysis reveals a soft mean X-ray spectrum for these sources, consistent with Gamma~2.1. This suggests that star-forming galaxies and not obscured AGN dominate the stacked signal. In contrast AGN selection methods that combine mid-infrared with optical criteria are more successful in finding heavily obscured AGN candidates. A method similar to the one proposed by Fiore et al. (2008) is adopted to select extremely red objects (R-[3.6]>3.7mag) with high 24micron to optical flux ratio (f_24/f_R>1000). About 80% of these sources are not detected at X-ray wavelengths. Stacking the X-ray photons at the positions of these sources shows a flat mean X-ray spectrum (Gamma~0.8), which suggests Compton-thick sources, low-luminosity and moderately obscured (N_H~8e22) AGN, or a combination of the two. The mid-infrared colours and luminosities of these sources are consistent with ULIRGs at z~2, while HST/ACS images, available for the optically brighter of these sources, show disturbed optical morphologies in many of them. The evidence above suggests that this population includes systems in the process of formation., Comment: Accepted by A&A

We present the results of a study of a sample of 375 Extremely Red Galaxies (ERGs) in the Phoenix Deep Survey, 273 of which constitute a subsample which is 80% complete to K_s = 18.5 over an area of 1160 arcmin^2. The angular correlation function for ERGs is estimated, and the association of ERGs with faint radio sources explored. We find tentative evidence that ERGs and faint radio sources are associated at z > 0.5. A new overdensity-mapping algorithm has been used to characterize the ERG distribution, and identify a number of cluster candidates, including a likely cluster containing ERGs at 0.5 < z < 1. Our algorithm is also used in an attempt to probe the environments in which faint radio sources and ERGs are associated. We find limited evidence that the I - K_s > 4 criterion is more efficient than R - K_s > 5 at selecting dusty star-forming galaxies, rather than passively evolving ERGs., Comment: 14 emulateapj pages, 15 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Astronomical Journal. A version with full resolution figures is available at http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~asmith/research/ERGpaper.pdf

We combine Lyman-break colour selection with ultradeep (> 200 ks) Chandra X-ray imaging over a survey area of ~0.35 deg^2 to select high redshift AGN. Applying careful corrections for both the optical and X-ray selection functions, the data allow us to make the most accurate determination to date of the faint end of the X-ray luminosity function (XLF) at z~3. Our methodology recovers a number density of X-ray sources at this redshift which is at least as high as previous surveys, demonstrating that it is an effective way of selecting high z AGN. Comparing to results at z=1, we find no evidence that the faint slope of the XLF flattens at high z, but we do find significant (factor ~3.6) negative evolution of the space density of low luminosity AGN. Combining with bright end data from very wide surveys we also see marginal evidence for continued positive evolution of the characteristic break luminosity L*. Our data therefore support models of luminosity-dependent density evolution between z=1 and z=3. A sharp upturn in the the XLF is seen at the very lowest luminosities (Lx < 10^42.5 erg s^-1), most likely due to the contribution of pure X-ray starburst galaxies at very faint fluxes., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The application of multi-wavelength selection techniques is crucial for discovering a complete and unbiased set of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). Here, we select a sample of 72 AGN candidates in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS) using deep radio and mid-infrared data from the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Spitzer Space Telescope, and analyze their properties across other wavelengths. Only 30% of these sources are detected in deep 200 ks Chandra X-ray Observatory pointings. The X-ray detected sources demonstrate moderate obscuration with column densities of N_H > 10^22 cm^-2. A stacked image of sources undetected by Chandra shows low levels of X-ray activity, suggesting they may be faint or obscured AGNs. Less than 40% of our sample are selected as AGNs with optical broad lines, mid-infrared power laws, or X-ray detections. Thus, if our candidates are indeed AGNs, the radio/mid-infrared selection criteria we use provide a powerful tool for identifying sources missed by other surveys., Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, Accepted to ApJ

We measure the dependence of the AGN fraction on local environment at z~1, using spectroscopic data taken from the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey, and Chandra X-ray data from the All-Wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). To provide a clean sample of AGN we restrict our analysis to the red sequence population; this also reduces additional colour-environment correlations. We find evidence that high redshift LINERs in DEEP2 tend to favour higher density environments relative to the red population from which they are drawn. In contrast, Seyferts and X-ray selected AGN at z~1 show little (or no) environmental dependencies within the same underlying population. We compare these results with a sample of local AGN drawn from the SDSS. Contrary to the high redshift behaviour, we find that both LINERs and Seyferts in the SDSS show a slowly declining red sequence AGN fraction towards high density environments. Interestingly, at z~1 red sequence Seyferts and LINERs are approximately equally abundant. By z~0, however, the red Seyfert population has declined relative to the LINER population by over a factor of 7. We speculate on possible interpretations of our results., Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to MNRAS

We explore the role of AGN in establishing and/or maintaining the bimodal colour distribution of galaxies by quenching their star-formation and hence, causing their transition from the blue to the red cloud. Important tests for this scenario include (i) the X-ray properties of galaxies in the transition zone between the two clouds and (ii) the incidence of AGN in post-starbursts, i.e. systems observed shortly after (<1Gyr) the termination of their star-formation. We perform these tests by combining deep Chandra observations with multiwavelength data from the AEGIS survey. Stacking the X-ray photons at the positions of galaxies (0.4

We investigate the environment of infrared luminous galaxies (L$_{IR}$[8-1000 $\mu $m$] >10^{11}$L$_{\sun}$). We focus on the redshift range 0.7 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 1, where these galaxies dominate the star formation activity and play a significant role in galaxy evolution. We employ MIPS 24$\mu$m data to identify infrared galaxies in the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). We use a local density indicator to probe the environment on few Mpc scales and a group member catalog, both of which make use of the DEEP2 spectroscopic redshift catalog, to quantify the environment of these galaxies. We find that the local environment of LIRGs and ULIRGs is intermediate between that of blue and red galaxies. LIRGs and ULIRGs avoid underdense environments and inhabit local environments that are more dense on average than those of other DEEP2 galaxies at similar redshifts. However, when the comparison sample of the non-IR DEEP2 galaxies is restricted to have the same range of stellar mass, color, or luminosity as the IR--galaxies, there is no longer any significant difference in environment; the IR-galaxies follow the same trends in the color-environment and luminosity-environment relations observed at z$\sim$1. We also find that about 30% of the LIRGs and ULIRGs belong to groups, associated with a minimum dark matter halo of 6$\times10^{12}$M$_{\odot}$h$^{-1}$. The group members constitute 20 % of the sources responsible for the IR star formation rate density and comoving energy density at z$\sim$1., Comment: 47 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Utilizing Chandra X-ray observations in the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS) we identify 241 X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs, L > 10^{42} ergs/s) and study the properties of their host galaxies in the range 0.4 < z < 1.4. By making use of infrared photometry from Palomar Observatory and BRI imaging from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, we estimate AGN host galaxy stellar masses and show that both stellar mass and photometric redshift estimates (where necessary) are robust to the possible contamination from AGNs in our X-ray selected sample. Accounting for the photometric and X-ray sensitivity limits of the survey, we construct the stellar mass function of X-ray selected AGN host galaxies and find that their abundance decreases by a factor of ~2 since z~1, but remains roughly flat as a function of stellar mass. We compare the abundance of AGN hosts to the rate of star formation quenching observed in the total galaxy population. If the timescale for X-ray detectable AGN activity is roughly 0.5-1 Gyr--as suggested by black hole demographics and recent simulations--then we deduce that the inferred AGN "trigger" rate matches the star formation quenching rate, suggesting a link between these phenomena. However, given the large range of nuclear accretion rates we infer for the most massive and red hosts, X-ray selected AGNs may not be directly responsible for quenching star formation., Comment: 12 pages. Submitted to ApJ. Comments welcome

We present the results of a study on the properties and evolution of massive (M_* > 10^11 M_0) galaxies at z~0.4 - 2 utilising Keck spectroscopy, near-Infrared Palomar imaging, and Hubble, Chandra, and Spitzer data covering fields targeted by the DEEP2 galaxy spectroscopic survey. Our sample is K band selected based on wide-area NIR imaging from the Palomar Observatory Wide-Field Infrared Survey, which covers 1.53 deg^2 to K_s,vega~20.5. Our major findings include: (i) statistically the mass and number densities of M_* > 10^11 M_0 galaxies show little evolution between z = 0 - 1, and from z ~ 0 - 2 for M_* > 10^11.5 M_0 galaxies. (ii) Using Hubble ACS imaging, we find that M_* > 10^11 selected galaxies show a nearly constant elliptical fraction of ~70-90% at all redshifts. The remaining objects are peculiars possibly undergoing mergers at z > 0.8, while spirals dominate the remainder at lower redshifts. (iii) We find that only a fraction (~60%) of massive galaxies with M_* > 10^11 M_0 are on the red-sequence at z~1.4, while nearly 100% evolve onto it by z~0.4. (iv) By utilising Spitzer MIPS imaging and [OII] line fluxes we argue that M_* > 10^11.5 galaxies have a steeply declining star formation rate density ~(1+z)^6. By examining the contribution of star formation to the evolution of the mass function, as well as the merger history through the CAS parameters, we determine that M_* >10^11 M_0 galaxies undergo on average 0.9^+0.7_-0.5 major mergers at 0.4 < z < 1.4. (v) A high (5%) fraction of all M_* > 10^11 M_0 galaxies are X-ray emitters. Roughly half of these are morphologically distorted ellipticals or peculiars. We compare our results with the Millennium simulation, finding that the number and mass densities of M_* > 10^11.5 M_0 galaxies are under predicted by a factor of > 100., Comment: MNRAS, in press, 28 pages

We explore the nature of the radio emission of X-ray selected AGN by combining deep radio (1.4GHz; 60micro-Jy) and X-ray data with multiwavelength (optical, mid-infrared) observations in the Extended Chandra Deep Field South (E-CDFS). The fraction of radio detected X-ray sources increases from 9% in the E-CDFS to 14% in the central region of this field, which has deeper X-ray coverage from the 1Ms CDFS. We find evidence that the radio emission of up to 60% of the hard X-ray/radio matched AGN is likely associated with star-formation in the host galaxy. Firstly, the mid-IR (24micron) properties of these sources are consistent with the infrared/radio correlation of starbursts. Secondly, most of them are found in galaxies with blue rest-frame optical colours (U-V), suggesting a young stellar population. On the contrary, X-ray/radio matched AGN which are not detected in the mid-infrared have red U-V colours suggesting their radio emission is associated with AGN activity. We also find no evidence for a population of heavily obscured radio-selected AGN that are not detected in X-rays. Finally, we do no confirm previous claims for a correlation between radio emission and X-ray obscuration. Assuming that the radio continuum measures star-formation, this finding is against models where the dust and gas clouds associated with circumnuclear starbursts are spherically blocking our view to the central engine., Comment: Accepted by A&A

We investigate claims that recent deep X-ray surveys are detecting starbursts at cosmologically interesting redshifts (z=0-1). We combine X-ray data from the 2Ms CDF-North with multi-wavelength observations from GOODS to build the SEDs (UV, optical, IR) of X-ray sources in this field. These are fit with model templates providing an estimate of the total IR luminosity of each source. We then exploit the correlation between IR and X-ray luminosities for star-forming galaxies, established in the local Universe, to select sources that are dominated by star-formation. This approach is efficient in discriminating normal galaxies from AGN over a wide range of SFRs. The resulting sample consists of 45 X-ray selected star-forming systems at a median redshift z~0.5, the majority of which (60%) are LIRGs or ULIRGs. This sample is least affected by incompleteness and AGN contamination and is well suited for cosmological studies. We quantify the X-ray evolution of these sources by constructing their differential, dN/dS, and comparing them with evolving luminosity function models. The results are consistent with luminosity evolution of the form (1+z)^{p} with p~2.4. This is similar to the evolution rate of star-forming galaxies selected at other wavelengths, suggesting that the deep X-ray surveys, are indeed finding the starburst galaxy population that drives the rapid evolution of the global SFR density in the range z~0-1. Our analysis also reveals a separate population of IR-faint X-ray sources. These include old galaxies but also systems that are X-ray luminous for their stellar mass compared to local E/S0. We argue that these may be post-starbursts that will, over time, become fainter at X-rays and will eventually evolve into early-type systems (e.g. E/S0)., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present Chandra and Spitzer data of the 186, extragalactic, hard 2-10 keV X-ray selected sources, which lie in the central part of the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). For the vast majority of sources (99.5%) there is a spectroscopic or photometric redshift available. We classify 17 sources as X-ray obscured QSOs, according to strictly X-ray criteria, i.e. defined as having large hydrogen column densities (N_H>10^22 cgs) and luminosities (Lx>10^44 cgs). The surface density of X-ray obscured QSOs is ~210 sq. deg. We find 18 candidate Compton thick N_H>10^24 cgs sources, of which three have QSO luminosities (L_x>10^44 cgs). The X-ray obscured QSO comprise a mixed bag of objects, covering the redshift range z=1.3-4.3. Eight of these show narrow line optical spectra, two show no obscuration in their optical spectra presenting Broad Lines, while for the other seven there is only a photometric redshift available. About half of the X-ray obscured QSOs show high X-ray to optical flux ratios, X/O>1, and red colours, I-3.6>4. Combination of the X-ray with the mid-IR 8 or 24 micron flux can be used as an additional diagnostic to sift out the heavily obscured AGN. All X-ray selected QSOs present red mid-IR colours and can be easily separated among mid-IR sources, demonstrating that mid-IR selection provides a powerful tool for the detection of obscured QSOs., Comment: To appear in A&A

We visually and quantitatively determine the host galaxy morphologies of 94 intermediate redshift (0.2 < z < 1.2) active galactic nuclei (AGN), selected using Chandra X-ray and Spitzer mid-infrared data in the Extended Groth Strip. Using recently developed morphology measures, the second-order moment of the brightest 20% of a galaxy's flux (M_{20}) and the Gini coefficient, we find that X-ray-selected AGN mostly reside in E/S0/Sa galaxies (53^{+11}_{-10}%), while IR-selected AGN show no clear preference for host morphology. X-ray-selected AGN hosts are members of close pairs more often than the field population by a factor of 3.3+/-1.4, but most of these pair members appear to be undisturbed early-type galaxies and do not tend to show direct evidence of gravitational perturbations or interactions. Thus, the activation mechanism for AGN activity remains unknown, even for pair members., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJL

In this the first of a series of Letters, we present a description of the panchromatic data sets that have been acquired in the Extended Groth Strip region of the sky. Our survey, the All-wavelength Extended Groth strip International Survey (AEGIS), is intended to study the physical properties and evolutionary processes of galaxies at z ~ 1. It includes the following deep, wide-field imaging data sets: Chandra/ACIS X-ray (0.5 - 10 keV), GALEX ultraviolet (1200 - 2500 Angstrom), CFHT/MegaCam Legacy Survey optical (3600 - 9000 Angstroms), CFHT/CFH12K optical (4500 - 9000 Angstroms), Hubble Space Telescope/ACS optical (4400 - 8500 Angstroms), Palomar/WIRC near-infrared (1.2 - 2.2 microns), Spitzer/IRAC mid-infrared (3.6 - 8.0 microns), Spitzer/MIPS far-infrared (24 - 70 microns), and VLA radio continuum (6 - 20 cm). In addition, this region of the sky has been targeted for extensive spectroscopy using the DEIMOS spectrograph on the Keck II 10 m telescope. Our survey is compared to other large multiwavelength surveys in terms of depth and sky coverage., Comment: 21 pages, 1 fig; intro letter for AEGIS ApJL special issue; ps & pdf at http://www.ucolick.org/~raja/aegis.ps & http://www.ucolick.org/~raja/aegis.pdf

We explore the environment of z~1 AGN using a sample of 53 spectroscopically identified X-ray sources in the All-wavelength Extended Groth strip International Survey. We quantify the local density in the vicinity of an X-ray source by measuring the projected surface density of spectroscopically identified optical galaxies within a radius defined by the 3rd nearest neighbour. Our main result is that X-ray selected AGN at z~1 avoid underdense regions at the 99.89% confidence level. Moreover, although we find that the overall population shares the same (rich) environment with optical galaxies of similar U-B and M_B, there is also tentative evidence (96%) that AGN with blue colors (U-B<1) reside in denser environments compared to optical galaxies. We argue that the results above are a consequence of the whereabouts of massive galaxies, capable of hosting supermassive black holes at their centers, with available cold gas reservoirs, the fuel for AGN activity. At z~1 an increasing fraction of such systems are found in dense regions., Comment: accepted by ApJL

We discuss the relationship between rest-frame color and optical luminosity for X-ray sources in the range 0.6

We use deep and wide near infrared (NIR) imaging from the Palomar telescope combined with DEEP2 spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Chandra Space Telescope imaging to investigate the nature of galaxies that are red in NIR colors. We locate these `distant red galaxies' (DRGs) through the color cut (J-K)_{vega} > 2.3 over 0.7 deg^{2}, where we find 1010 DRG candidates down to K_s = 20.5. We combine 95 high quality spectroscopic redshifts with photometric redshifts from BRIJK photometry to determine the redshift and stellar mass distributions for these systems, and morphological/structural and X-ray properties for 107 DRGs in the Extended Groth Strip. We find that many bright (J-K)_{vega}>2.3 galaxies with K_s<20.5 are at redshifts z<2, with 64% between 12 systems massive with M_*>10^{11} M_solar. HST imaging shows that the structural properties and morphologies of DRGs are also diverse, with the majority elliptical/compact (57%), and the remainder edge-on spirals (7%), and peculiar galaxies (29%). The DRGs at z < 1.4 with high quality spectroscopic redshifts are generally compact, with small half light radii, and span a range in rest-frame optical properties. The spectral energy distributions for these objects differ from higher redshift DRGs: they are bluer by one magnitude in observed (I-J) color. A pure IR color selection of high redshift populations is not sufficient to identify unique populations, and other colors, or spectroscopic redshifts are needed to produce homogeneous samples., Comment: ApJ letters, in press

We combine bright XMM data with the Chandra Deep Field South observations in order to explore the behavior of the intrinsic AGN absorption, as a function of redshift and luminosity.Our sample consists of 359 sources selected in the hard 2-8 keV band, spanning the flux range 6\times10^{-16}-$3\times10^{-13} erg s^-1 cm^-2 with a high rate of spectroscopic or photometric redshift completeness (100 and 85 per cent respectively for the Chandra and XMM data. We derive the column density values using X-ray spectral fits. We find that the fraction of obscured AGN falls with increasing luminosity in agreement with previous findings. The fraction of obscured AGN shows an apparent increase at high redshifts (z>2). Simulations show that this effect can be most probably attributed to the fact that at high redshifts the column densities are overestimated., Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures, A&A accepted

We discuss the optical and X-ray spectral properties of the sources detected in a single 200ks Chandra pointing in the Groth-Westphal Strip region. Optical identifications and spectroscopic redshifts are primarily from the DEEP2 survey. This is complemented with deeper (r~26mag) multi-waveband data (ugriz) from the Canada France Hawaii Legacy Survey to estimate photometric redshifts and to optically identify sources fainter than the DEEP2 magnitude limit (R(AB)~24.5mag). We focus our study on the 2-10keV selected sample comprising 97 sources to the limit ~8e-16erg/s/cm2, this being the most complete in terms of optical identification rate (86%) and redshift determination fraction (63%; both spectroscopic and photometric). We first construct the redshift distribution of the sample which shows a peak at z~1. This is in broad agreement with models where less luminous AGNs evolve out to z~1 with powerful QSOs peaking at higher redshift, z~2. Evolution similar to that of broad-line QSOs applied to the entire AGN population (both type-I and II) does not fit the data. We also explore the observed N_H distribution of the sample and estimate a fraction of obscured AGN (N_H>1e22) of ~48%. This is found to be consistent with both a luminosity dependent intrinsic N_H distribution, where less luminous systems comprise a higher fraction of type-II AGNs, and models with a fixed ratio 2:1 between type-I and II AGNs. We further compare our results with those obtained in deeper and shallower surveys. We argue that a luminosity dependent parametrisation of the intrinsic N_H distribution is required to account for the fraction of obscured AGN observed in different samples over a wide range of fluxes., Comment: MNRAS in press

We use the number counts of X-ray selected normal galaxies to explore their evolution by combining the most recent wide-angle shallow and pencil-beam deep samples available. The differential X-ray number counts, dN/dS, for early and late-type normal galaxies are constructed separately and then compared with the predictions of the local X-ray luminosity function under different evolution scenarios. The dN/dS of early type galaxies is consistent with no evolution out to z~0.5. For late-type galaxies our analysis suggests that it is the sources with X-ray--to--optical flux ratio logfx/fopt>-2 that are evolving the fastest. Including these systems in the late-type galaxy sample yields evolution of the form ~(1+z)^{2.7} out to z~0.4. On the contrary late-type sources with logfx/fopt<-2 are consistent with no evolution. This suggests that the logfx/fopt>-2 population comprises the most powerful and fast evolving starbursts at moderate and high-z. We argue that although residual low-luminosity AGN contamination may bias our results toward stronger evolution, this is unlikely to modify our main conclusions., Comment: to appear in ApJL

We cross-correlated the Chandra XASSIST and XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogues with the 2 degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dfGRS) database. Our aim was to identify the most X-ray luminous (L_X > 10^42 erg s^-1) examples of galaxies in the local Universe whose X-ray emission is dominated by stellar processes rather than AGN activity ('normal' galaxies) as well as to test the empirical criterion log(f_X/f_O) < -2 for separating AGN from NGs. With XMM-Newton (Chandra) we covered an area of ~8.2 (~5.8)deg^2 down to a flux limit of ~10^-15 (~1.6 x 10^-15) erg cm^-2 s^-1 and found 18 (20) 2dfGRS galaxies. Using emission-line intensity ratios, we classified 6 2dfGRS spectra as star-forming, H II nuclei, and 2 spectra as possible H II nuclei. The rest of the objects are absorption-line galaxies and AGN, including 3 possible LINERs. No luminous 'normal' galaxies have been found but out of 19 'normal' galaxies in this sample 5 H II and 3 absorption-line galaxies have log(f_X/f_O) > -2. We performed a similar search in two nearby-galaxy samples from the literature. All 44 galaxies in the Zezas (2001) sample have log(f_X/f_O) < -2 and L_X < 10^42 erg s^-1. In the Fabbiano et al. (1992) sample, out of a total of 170 'normal' galaxies, we found 16 galaxies with log(f_X/f_O) >-2, the majority of which are massive ellipticals. Three of these have L_X > 10^42 erg s^-1 ., Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics

We present Chandra and XMM observations of 12 bright (f(2-10 keV) > 10^-13 cgs) sources from the ASCA SHEEP (Search for the High Energy Extragalactic Population) survey. Most of these have been either not observed or not detected previously with the ROSAT mission and therefore they constitute a sample biased towards hard sources. The Chandra observations are important in locating with accuracy the optical counterpart of the X-ray sources. Optical spectroscopic observations show that our sample is associated with both narrow-line (NL) (six objects), and Broad-Line (BL) AGN (five objects) with one source remaining unidentified. Our sources cover the redshift range 0.04 to 1.29 spanning luminosities from 10^42 to 10^45 cgs (2-10 keV). The NL sources have preferentially lower redshift (and luminosity) compared with the BL ones. This can be most easily explained in a model where the NL AGN are intrinsically less luminous than the BL ones in line with the results of Steffen et al. The X-ray spectral fittings show a roughly equal number of obscured (N_H>10^22 cgs) and unobscured (N_H<10^22 cgs) sources. There is a clear tendency for obscured sources to be associated with NL AGN and unobscured sources with BL ones. However, there is a marked exception with the highest obscuring column observed at a BL AGN at a redshift of z=0.5., Comment: 8 pages, to appear in MNRAS

This paper uses the 1st XMM Serendipitous Source Catalog compiled by the XMM Science Center to identify low-z X-ray selected normal galaxy candidates. Our sample covers a total area of ~6deg^2 to the 0.5-2keV limit 1e-15cgs. A total of 23 sources are selected on the basis of low X-ray-to-optical flux ratio logfx/fopt<-2, soft X-ray spectral properties and optical spectra, when available, consistent with stellar than AGN processes. This sample is combined with similarly selected systems from the Needles in the Haystack Survey (Georgantopoulos et al. 2005) to provide a total of 46 z<0.2 X-ray detected normal galaxies, the largest low-z sample yet available. This is first used to constrain the normal galaxy logN-logS at bright fluxes (>1e-15cgs). We estimate a slope of -1.46\pm0.13 for the cumulative number counts consistent with the euclidean prediction. We further combine our sample with 23 local (z<0.2) galaxies from the CDF North and South to construct the local X-ray luminosity function of normal galaxies. A Schechter form provides a good fit to the data with a break at logL*~41.02cgs and a slope of -1.76\pm0.10. Finally, for the sample of 46 systems we explore the association between X-ray luminosity and host galaxy properties, such as SFR and stellar mass. We find that the L_X of the emission-line systems correlates with Ha luminosity and 1.4GHz radio power, both providing an estimate of the current star-formation rate. In the case of early type galaxies with absorption line optical spectra we use the K-band as proxy to stellar mass and find a correlation of the form L_X~L_K^1.5. This is flatter than the L_X-L_B relation for local ellipticals. This may be due to either L_K providing a better proxy to galaxy mass or selection effects biasing our sample against very luminous early-type galaxies., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Mid-infrared observations of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are important for understanding of the physical conditions around the central accretion engines. Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations of a 300 arcmin^2 region in the Extended Groth Strip are used to select a sample of~150 AGN. The Spitzer instruments IRAC and MIPS detect 68-80% of these sources, which show a wide range of mid-infrared properties. About 40% of the sources have red power-law spectral energy distributions (f_nu ~ nu^alpha, alpha<0) in the 3.6-8 um IRAC bands. In these sources the central engine dominates the emission at both X-ray and IR wavelengths. Another 40% of the sources have blue mid-IR spectral energy distributions (alpha>0) with their infrared emission dominated by the host galaxy; the remaining 20% are not well-fit by a power law. Published IRAC color criteria for AGN select most of the red sources, but only some of the blue sources. As with all other known methods, selecting AGN with mid-IR colors will not produce a sample that is simultaneously complete and reliable. The IRAC SED type does not directly correspond to X-ray spectral type (hard/soft). The mid-IR properties of X-ray-detected Lyman-break, radio, submillimeter, and optically-faint sources vary widely and, for the most part, are not distinct from those of the general X-ray/infrared source population. X-ray sources emit 6-11% of the integrated mid--IR light, making them significant contributors to the cosmic infrared background., Comment: Replaced to correct minor error in Figure 3 axis label and typo in author list. ApJ, in press; 40 pages, 12 figures

We estimate the star-formation rates and the stellar masses of the Extremely Red objects (EROs) detected in a 180arcmin2 Ks-band survey (Ks~20mag). This sample is complemented by sensitive 1.4GHz radio observations (12micro-Jy; 1sigma rms) and multiwaveband photometric data (UBVRIJ) as part of the Phoenix Deep Survey. For bright K<19.5mag EROs in this sample (I-K>4mag; total of 177) we use photometric methods to discriminate dust-enshrouded active systems from early-type galaxies and to constrain their redshifts. Radio stacking is then employed to estimate mean radio flux densities of 8.6 (3sigma) and 6.4micro-Jy (2.4sigma) for the dusty and early-type subsamples respectively. Assuming that dust enshrouded active EROs are powered by star-formation the above radio flux density at the median redshift of z=1 translates to a radio luminosity of 4.5e22W/Hz and a star-formation rate of SFR=25Mo/yr. Combining this result with photometric redshift estimates we find a lower limit to the star-formation rate density of ~0.02Mo/yr/Mpc^3 for the K<19.5mag dusty EROs in the range z=0.85-1.35. Comparison with the SFR density estimated from previous ERO samples (with similar selection criteria) using optical emission lines, suffering dust attenuation, suggests a mean dust reddening of at least E(B-V)~0.5 for this population. We further use the Ks-band luminosity as proxy to stellar mass and argue that the dust enshrouded EROs in our sample are massive systems, M>5e10Mo. We also find that EROs represent a sizable fraction (~50%) of the number density of galaxies more massive than M=5e10Mo at z~1, with almost equal contributions from dusty and early types. Similarly, we find that EROs contribute about half of the mass density of the Universe at z~1 after taking into account incompleteness because of the limit K=19.5mag., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. Data available at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/ahopkins/phoenix/

In this paper we combine archival and proprietary XMM-Newton observations (about 5deg^2) that overlap with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to explore the nature of the moderate-z X-ray population. We focus on X-ray sources with optically red colours (g-r>0.4), which we argue are important for understanding the origin of the X-ray background. Firstly, these systems constitute a significant fraction, about 2/3, of the z<1 X-ray population to the limit f(2-8keV)~2e-14cgs. Secondly, their luminosity function under evolution of the form ~(1+z)^3 suggests that they could be responsible for about 17 per cent of the diffuse X-ray background to z=1. Thirdly, their stacked X-ray spectrum in the range 1-8keV is consistent with a power-law distribution with Gamma~1.4 (without fitting intrinsic absorption), i.e. similar to the diffuse X-ray background. We find that the optically red X-ray population comprises a mixed bag of objects, both obscured (N_H>1e22 cm^{-2}) and unobscured (N_H<1e22 cm^{-2}), with a wide range of X-ray luminosities up L_X~1e44cgs. We argue that dilution of the AGN light by the host galaxy may play a role in shaping the continuum optical emission of this population. Finally, we explore a possible association of these sources and the moderate-z red (J-Ks>2mag) AGNs identified in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). The median N_H of the red X-ray sources studied here is ~1e21cm^{-2}, lower than that found for the 2MASS AGNs, suggesting different populations., Comment: Accepted by MNRAS

We present a sample of eight extended X-ray sources detected in the wide-field (~2.3 deg^2), bright (2-10 ksec) XMM-Newton/2dF survey, reaching a flux limit of ~2 X 10^{-14} erg/s/cm^2. Of these, seven are identified as secure X-ray clusters in the soft 0.3-2 keV band using a standard wavelet algorithm on either the PN or the MOS images. Spectroscopic or photometric redshifts are available for five clusters, spanning a range between 0.12 and 0.68. The X-ray spectral fittings show temperatures between 1 and 4.6 keV, characteristic of poor clusters and groups of galaxies. We derive for the first time the XMM-Newton cluster number count log N-log S distribution albeit with poor statistics. Both the log N-\log S and the Luminosity-Temperature relation are in good agreement with previous ROSAT results., Comment: 8 pages, MNRAS in press

In this paper we estimate the local (z<0.22) X-ray luminosity function of `normal' galaxies derived from the XMM-Newton Needles in the Haystack Survey. This is an on-going project that aims to identify X-ray selected `normal' galaxies (i.e. non-AGN dominated) in the local Universe. We are using a total of 70 XMM-Newton fields covering an area of 11 sq. degrees which overlap with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release-2. `Normal' galaxies are selected on the basis of their resolved optical light profile, their low X-ray--to--optical flux ratio (log(f_x/f_o)<-2) and soft X-ray colours. We find a total of 28 candidate `normal' galaxies to the 0.5-8 keV band flux limit of ~2x10^{-15} cgs. Optical spectra are available for most sources in our sample (82 per cent). These provide additional evidence that our sources are bona-fide 'normal' galaxies with X-ray emission coming from diffuse hot gas emission and/or X-ray binaries rather than a supermassive black hole. Sixteen of our galaxies have narrow emission lines or a late-type Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) while the remaining 12 present only absorption lines or an early-type SED. Combining our XMM-Newton sample with 18 local (z<0.22) galaxies from the Chandra Deep Field North and South surveys, we construct the local X-ray luminosity function of `normal' galaxies. This can be represented with a Schechter form with a break at L* ~ 3x10^{41} cgs and a slope of ~1.78+/-0.12. Using this luminosity function and assuming pure luminosity evolution of the form (1+z)^{3.3} we estimate a contribution to the X-ray background from `normal' galaxies of 10-20 per cent (0.5-8 keV). Finally, we derive, for the first time, the luminosity functions for early and late type systems separately., Comment: To appear to MNRAS, 9 pages

In this paper we serendipitously identify X-ray cluster candidates using XMM-Newton archival observations complemented by 5-band optical photometric follow-up observations (r~23 mag) as part of the X-ray Identification (XID) programme. Our sample covers an area of ~2.1 sq. deg (15 XMM-Newton fields) and comprises a total of 21 (19 serendipitous + 2 target) extended X-ray sources to the limit f(0.5-2keV) ~ 6x10^{-15} cgs with a high probability (> 99.9%) of being extended on the XMM-Newton images. Of the 21 cluster candidates 7 are spectroscopically confirmed in the literature. Exploiting the optical data available for these fields we discover that 68% of the X-ray cluster candidates are associated with optical galaxy overdensities. We also attempt to constrain the redshifts of our cluster candidates using photometric methods. We thus construct the photometric redshift distribution of galaxies in the vicinity of each X-ray selected cluster candidate and search for statistically significant redshift peaks against that of the background distribution of field galaxies. Comparison of the photometric with spectroscopic redshift estimates for the confirmed clusters suggest that our simple method is robust out to z~0.5. For clusters at higher z, deeper optical data are required to estimate reliable photometric redshifts. Finally, using the sample of the 19 serendipitous X-ray selected cluster candidates we estimate their surface density down to f(0.5-2keV) ~ 6x10^{-15} cgs and find it to be in fair agreement with previous and recent studies., Comment: Submitted to the MNRAS, 8 pages

We investigate the cold and warm dust properties during galaxy interactions using a merging galaxy sample ordered into a chronological sequence from pre- to post-mergers. Our sample comprises a total of 29 merging systems selected to have far-infrared and sub-millimeter observations. We use the 100-to-850 micron flux density ratio, f100/f850, as a proxy to the mass fraction of the warm and the cold dust in these systems. We find evidence for an increase in f100/f850 along the merging sequence from early to advanced mergers and interpret this trend as an increase of the warm relative to the cold dust mass. We argue that the two key parameters affecting the f100/f850 flux ratio is the star-formation rate and the dust content of individual systems relative to the stars. Using a sophisticated model for the absorption and re-emission of the stellar UV radiation by dust we show that these parameters can indeed explain both the increase and the observed scatter in the f100/f850 along the merging galaxy sequence., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of: "The Spectral Energy Distribution of Gas-Rich Galaxies: Confronting Models with Data", Heidelberg, 4-8 Oct. 2004, eds. C.C. Popescu and R.J. Tuffs, AIP Conf. Ser., in press

We explore the properties of X-ray Bright Optically Inactive Galaxies (XBONG) detected in the 0.5-8 keV spectral band in 20 public XMM fields overlapping with the SDSS. We constrain our sample to optically extended systems with log (f_X/f_o > -2) that have spectroscopic identifications available from the SDSS (r<19.2 mag). The resulting sample contains 12 objects with L_X (0.5-8keV)= 5 x 10^41 - 2x10^44 erg s-1 in the redshift range 0.06 < z < 0.45. The X-ray emission in four cases is extended suggesting the presence of hot gas associated with a cluster or group of galaxies. The X-ray spectral fits show that two additional sources are best fit with a thermal component emission (kT \~ 1 keV). Three sources aremost likely associated with AGN: their X-ray spectrum is described by a steep photon index ~ 1.9 typical of unobscured AGN while, they are very luminous in X-rays (L_X (0.5-8 keV) ~ 10^43 - 10^44 erg s-1.) Finally, three more sources could be associated with either normal galaxies or unobscured Low Luminosity AGN (L_X < 10^42 erg s-1). We find no evidence for significant X-ray absorbing columns in any of our XBONGs. The above suggest that XBONGs, selected in the total 0.5-8 keV band, comprise a mixed bag of objects primarily including normal elliptical galaxies and type-1 AGN whose optical nuclear spectrum is probably diluted by the strong stellar continuum. Nevertheless, as our sample is not statistically complete we cannot exclude the possibility that a fraction of optically fainter XBONG may be associated with heavily obscured AGN., Comment: 8 pages to appear in MNRAS

In this paper we explore the clustering properties and the environment of the Extremely Red Objects (EROs; I-K>4mag) detected in a ~180arcmin^2 deep (Ks~20mag) Ks-band survey of a region within the Phoenix Deep Survey, an on-going multiwavelength program aiming to investigate the nature and the evolution of faint radio sources. Using our complete sample of 289 EROs brighter than Ks=20mag we estimate a statistically significant (~3.7sigma) angular correlation function signal with amplitude Aw=8.7^{+2.1}_{-1.7}x10^{-3} consistent with earlier work based on smaller samples. This amplitude suggests a clustering length in the range ro=12-17h^{-1}Mpc, implying that EROs trace regions of enhanced density. Using a novel method we further explore the association of EROs with galaxy overdensities by smoothing the K-band galaxy distribution using the matched filter algorithm of Postman et al. (1996) and then cross-correlating the resulting density maps with the ERO positions. Our analysis provides direct evidence that EROs are associated with overdensities at redshifts z>1. We also exploit the deep radio 1.4GHz data (limiting flux 60microJy) available to explore the association of EROs and faint radio sources and whether the two populations trace similar large scale structures. Cross-correlation of the two samples (after excluding 17EROs with radio counterparts) gives a 2sigma signal only for the sub-sample of high-z radio sources (z>0.6). Although the statistics are poor this suggests that it is the high-z radio sub-sample that traces similar structures with EROs., Comment: To appear in ApJ. Figure 5 is given separately in jpeg format

The Phoenix Deep Survey is a multi-wavelength galaxy survey based on deep 1.4 GHz radio imaging (Hopkins et al., 2003). The primary goal of this survey is to investigate the properties of star formation in galaxies and to trace the evolution in those properties to a redshift z=1, covering a significant fraction of the age of the Universe. By compiling a sample of star-forming galaxies based on selection at radio wavelengths we eliminate possible biases due to dust obscuration, a significant issue when selecting objects at optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. In this paper, we present the catalogs and results of deep optical (UBVRI) and near-infrared (Ks) imaging of the deepest region of the existing decimetric radio imaging. The observations and data-processing are summarised and the construction of the optical source catalogs described, together with the details of the identification of candidate optical counterparts to the radio catalogs. Based on our UBVRIKs imaging, photometric redshift estimates for the optical counterparts to the radio detections are explored., Comment: 56 pages inc. 16 page table; November issue of ApJS

The Phoenix Deep Survey is a multi-wavelength survey based on deep 1.4 GHz radio imaging, reaching well into the sub-100 microJy level. One of the aims of this survey is to characterize the sub-mJy radio population, exploring its nature and evolution. In this paper we present the catalog and results of the spectroscopic observations aimed at characterizing the optically ``bright'' (R<~ 21.5 mag) counterparts of faint radio sources. Out of 371 sources with redshift determination, 21% have absorption lines only, 11% show AGN signatures, 32% are star-forming galaxies, 34% show narrow emission lines that do not allow detailed spectral classification (due to poor signal-to-noise ratio and/or lack of diagnostic emission lines) and the remaining 2% are identified with stars. For the star-forming galaxies with a Balmer decrement measurement we find a median extinction of A(Ha)=1.9 mag, higher than that of optically selected samples. This is a result of the radio selection, which is not biased against dusty systems. Using the available spectroscopic information, we estimate the radio luminosity function of star-forming galaxies in two independent redshift bins at z~0.1 and 0.3 respectively. We find direct evidence for strong luminosity evolution of these systems consistent with L(1.4 GHz) ~ (1+z)^(2.7)., Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures. References added, and minor changes to reflect published version

We explore the X-ray properties of a subset of the optically selected SDSS cluster sample of Goto et al. (2002), by analysing seven public XMM-{\em Newton} pointings, with exposure times ranging from $\sim$ 4 to 46 ksec. There are in total 17 SDSS clusters out of which only eight are detected at X-ray wavelengths with $\rm f_{0.5-2keV}\magcir 1.2 \times 10^{-14}$ ergs cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. For the remaining 9 SDSS clusters we estimate their 3$\sigma$ luminosity upper limits (corresponding to $L_x\mincir 5\times 10^{42}$ ergs/sec in the 0.5-2 keV band). This relatively low luminosity suggests that if real structures, these galaxy aggregations correspond to poor groups of galaxies. Using the SDSS photometric catalogue we also derive the cluster optical $r$-band luminosities. The resulting scaling relations ($L_{\rm opt}-L_x$, $L_{\rm opt}-T_x$) are consistent with those of other recent studies., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in ApJL accepted version

We study the clustering properties of X-ray sources detected in the wide area ($\sim 2 $deg$^{2}$) bright, contiguous XMM-{\em Newton}/2dF survey. We detect 432 objects to a flux limit of $5\times 10^{-15}$ ergcm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$ in the soft 0.5-2 keV band. Performing the standard angular correlation function analysis, a $\sim 3\sigma$ correlation signal between 0 and 150 arcsec is detected: $w(\theta<150^{''})\simeq 0.114\pm 0.037$. If the angular correlation function is modeled as a power law, $w(\theta)=(\theta_{\circ}/\theta)^{\gamma-1}$, then for its nominal slope of $\gamma=1.8$ we estimate, after correcting for the integral constraint and the amplification bias, that $\theta_{\circ}\simeq 10.4 \pm 1.9$ arcsec. Using a clustering evolution model which is constant in comoving coordinates ($\epsilon=-1.2$), a luminosity dependent density evolution model for the X-ray luminosity function and the concordance cosmological model ($\Omega_{\rm m}=1-\Omega_{\Lambda}=0.3$) we obtain, by inverting Limber's integral equation, a spatial correlation length of $r_{\circ}\sim 16$ $h^{-1}$ Mpc. This value is larger than that of previous {\sc ROSAT} surveys as well as of the optical two-degree quasar redshift survey. Only in models where the clustering remains constant in physical coordinates ($\epsilon=-3$), do we obtain an $r_{\circ}$ value ($\sim 7.5$ $h^{-1}$ Mpc) which is consistent with the above surveys., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, MNRAS accepted

We investigate the cold and warm dust properties during galaxy interactions using a merging galaxy sample ordered into a chronological sequence from pre- to post-mergers. Our sample comprises a total of 29 merging systems selected to have far-infrared and sub-millimeter observations. The sub-millimeter data are mainly culled from the literature while for 5 galaxies (NGC 3597, NGC 3690, NGC 6090, NGC 6670 and NGC 7252) the sub-millimeter observations are presented here for the first time. We use the 100-to-850 micron flux density ratio, f_{100}/f_{850}, as a proxy to the mass fraction of the warm and the cold dust in these systems. We find evidence for an increase in f_{100}/f_{850} along the merging sequence from early to advanced mergers and interpret this trend as an increase of the warm relative to the cold dust mass. We argue that the two key parameters affecting the f_{100}/f_{850} flux ratio is the star-formation rate and the dust content of individual systems relative to the stars. Using a sophisticated model for the absorption and re-emission of the stellar UV radiation by dust we show that these parameters can indeed explain both the increase and the observed scatter in the f_{100}/f_{850} along the merging galaxy sequence. We also discuss our results under the hypothesis that elliptical galaxies are formed via disc galaxy mergers., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS

In this paper we present the first results from an on-going serendipitous survey aiming to identify X-ray selected `normal' galaxies (i.e. not AGN dominated) by combining archival XMM-Newton data with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. In the first 4.5deg2 of this program we have identified a total of 11 `normal' galaxy candidates (8 of them with optical spectroscopy) with fluxes f_X(0.5-8keV)~1e-15-1e-13cgs. These sources are selected to have low X-ray--to--optical flux ratio (logf_X/f_{opt}<-2), soft X-ray spectral properties and optical spectra, when available, consistent with the presence of a stellar ionising continuum. These sources comprise both early and late type systems at redshifts z<0.2 with luminosities L_X(0.5-8keV)~1e39-1e42cgs. This dataset provides the first tight constraint on the surface density of X-ray selected `normal' galaxies at relatively bright fluxes spanning two orders of magnitude (1e-15 - 1e-13cgs). The slope of the `normal' galaxy logN-logS in the above flux range is estimated -1.4\pm0.3 consistent with the euclidean prediction. We also discuss the prospects of `normal' galaxy studies at X-ray wavelengths using both our continuously expanding survey and future X-ray missions., Comment: To appear in MNRAS Letters, data available from http://www.astro.noa.gr/~xray

The radio properties of hard (2-8keV) X-ray selected sources are explored by combining a single 50ks XMM-Newton pointing with the ultra-deep and homogeneous Phoenix radio (1.4GHz) survey (Hopkins et al. 2003). A total of 43 sources are detected above the X-ray flux limit f_X(2-8keV)=7.7e-15cgs with 14 of them exhibiting radio emission above ~40muJy (3sigma). The X-ray/radio matched population lies in the borderline between radio loud and quiet AGNs and comprises sources with both soft and hard X-ray spectral properties suggesting both obscured and unobscured systems. The spectroscopically identified sub-sample (total of 6 X-ray/radio matches) comprises narrow emission line AGNs (4) with hard X-ray spectral properties and broad line sources (2) with soft X-ray spectra. We find evidence that the fraction of X-ray/radio matches increases from ~20% for sources with rest-frame column density N_H<1e22cm^-2 to \~50% for more absorbed systems. Poor statistics however, limit the significance of the above result to the ~2sigma level. Also, the X-ray/radio matched sources have flatter coadded X-ray spectrum (Gamma=1.78^{+0.05}_{-0.03}) compared to sources without radio emission (Gamma=2.00^{+0.03}_{-0.04}). A possible explanation for the higher fraction of absorbed sources with radio emission at the muJy level is the presence of circum-nuclear starburst activity that both feeds and obscures the central engine. For a small sub-sample of z~0.4 radio emitting AGNs with N_H>1e22cm^-2 their combined spectrum exhibits a soft X-ray component that may be associated with star-formation activity, although other possibilities cannot be excluded. We also find that radio emitting AGNs make up about 13-20% of the hard-band X-ray background depending on the adopted normalisation., Comment: To appear in MNRAS, for full resolution images and data see http://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/ahopkins/phoenix/

We explore the X-ray properties of optically selected QSOs spectroscopically identified in the course of the 2dF QSO survey (2QZ). Our main goal is to expand to higher redshifts previous findings suggesting the presence of a fraction of X-ray obscured sources among the low redshift optically selected broad line AGN population. The X-ray data are from the wide field (~2.5 sq. deg), shallow $[f(0.5 - 8 keV) ~10^-14 egs s^-1 cm^-2 XMM-Newton/2dF survey. A total of 96 2QZ QSOs overlap with the area covered by our X-ray survey. 66 of them have X-ray counterparts while 30 remain undetected in our X-ray survey. The 66 X-ray detected QSOs have a mean photon index of ~2 suggesting little or no X-ray obscuration for most of these sources. Individual X-ray spectral fittings reveal only 1 source (intrinsic Lx(0.5-8 keV) ~ 10^44 erg s^-1 at z=0.82) that is likely to be obscured (NH~10^23 cm^-2) at the 90% confidence level. Additionally, there are 9 2QZ sources that show evidence for moderate absorption (mean observed NH of ~10^21 cm^-2). For the 30 QSOs that remain undetected in our X-ray survey we use stacking analysis to estimate a mean hardness ratio of -0.59 +/- 0.11 suggesting that the bulk of this population has NH consistent with the Galactic value. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that some of these sources have enhanced photoelectric absorption that is not revealed in the mean stacked spectrum. We estimate a lower limit to the fraction of optically selected QSO with X-ray absorption of about 10% (10 out of 96)., Comment: To appear in MNRAS, 9 pages, 8 figures

(Abridged) In this paper we present photometric redshift estimates for a sample of X-ray selected sources detected in the wide field (~2 deg^2), bright [f_{X} (0.5-8 keV)~10^{-14} cgs] XMM-Newton/2dF survey. Unlike deeper X-ray samples comprising a large fraction of sources with colours dominated by the host galaxy, our bright survey primarily probes the QSO X-ray population. Therefore photometric redshift methods employing both galaxy and QSO templates need to be used. We employ the photometric redshift technique of Hatziminaoglou, Mathez & Pello (2000) using 5-band photometry from the SDSS. We separate our X-ray sources according to their optical profile to point-like and extended. We apply QSO and galaxy templates to the point-like and extended sources respectively. X-ray sources associated with Galactic stars are identified and discarded from our point-like sample on the basis of their low X-ray--to--optical flux ratio and their broad band colours that are best fit by stellar templates. Comparison of our results with spectroscopic redshifts available, allows calibration of our method and estimation of the photometric redshift accuracy. For ~70 per cent of the point-like sources photometric redshifts are correct within dz <= 0.3 (or ~75 per cent have dz/(1+z) <= 0.2), and the rms scatter is estimated to be sigma_z = 0.30. For the optically extended objects the photometric redshifts work only in the case of red (g - r > 0.5 mag) sources yielding dz <= 0.15 and dz/(1+z) <= 0.2 for 73 and 93 per cent respectively. However, we find that the above photometric redshift technique does not work in the case of extended sources with blue colours (g - r < 0.5): such sources cannot be fit successfully by QSO or galaxy templates, or any linear combination of the two., Comment: Replaced due to extended revision; 11 pages, 4 figures; Accepted in A&A

In this paper we cross-correlate the FIRST 1.4GHz radio survey with a wide field (~ 1.6deg^2) shallow [f(0.5-8keV) ~ 1e-14erg/s/cm^2] XMM-Newton survey. We find 12 X-ray/radio matches representing 4% of the X-ray selected sample. Most of them are found to be associated with AGNs (total of 9) on the basis of the observed optical spectra (3), radio morphology (2) or X-ray/optical properties (4), while one radio source is identified with an X-ray selected cluster. We also find two sources associated with low redshift galaxies with narrow emission line optical spectra, X-ray luminosity L(0.5-8keV) ~ 1e41erg/s, radio luminosity density L(1.4GHz) ~ 5e22W/Hz and logf_X/f_{opt} ~ -2 suggesting `normal' star-forming galaxies. We argue that radio surveys combined with X-ray sample could provide a powerful tool for identifying X-ray selected `normal' galaxies powered by stellar processes. Finally, radio loud and quiet systems in the present sample have mean X-ray spectral properties consistent with Gamma ~ 1.9., Comment: to appear in MNRAS. see also http://www.astro.noa.gr/~xray/

This paper presents the clustering properties of hard (2-8 keV) X-ray selected sources detected in a wide field ($\approx \rm 2 deg^{2}$) shallow [$f_X(\rm 2-8 keV)\approx 10^{-14}\rm erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}$] and contiguous XMM-{\it Newton} survey. We perform an angular correlation function analysis using a total of 171 sources to the above flux limit. We detect a $\sim 4\sigma$ correlation signal out to 300 arcsec with $w(\theta < 300^{''})\simeq 0.13 \pm 0.03$. Modeling the two point correlation function as a power law of the form $w(\theta)=(\theta_{\circ}/\theta)^{\gamma-1}$ we find: $\theta_{\circ}=48.9^{+15.8}_{-24.5}$ arcsec and $\gamma=2.2\pm {0.30}$. Fixing the correlation function slope to $\gamma=1.8$ we obtain $\theta_{\circ}=22.2^{+9.4}_{-8.6}$ arcsec. Using Limber's intergral equation and a variety of possible luminosity functions of the hard X-ray population, we find a relatively large correlation length, ranging from $r_{\circ}\sim 9$ to 19 $h^{-1}$ Mpc (for $\gamma=1.8$ and the {\em concordance} cosmological model), with this range reflecting also different evolutionary models for the source luminosities and clustering characteristics. The relatively large correlation length is comparable to that of extremely red objects and luminous radio sources., Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, ApJL accepted

We present the clustering properties of hard (2-8 keV) X-ray selected sources detected in a wide field (~2 deg^{2}) shallow [f(2-8 keV)~ 10^{-14} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}] and contiguous XMM-Newton survey. We perform an angular correlation function analysis using a total of 171 sources to the above flux limit. We detect a ~ 4\sigma correlation signal out to 300 arcsec with w(theta < 300^{''}) ~ 0.13 +- 0.03. Modeling the two point correlation function as a power law of the usual form we find: theta_o=48.9^{+15.8}_{-24.5} arcsec and gamma=2.2 +- 0.30. Fixing the correlation function slope to gamma=1.8 we obtain theta_o=22.2^{+9.4}_{-8.6} arcsec. Using Limber's integral equation and a variety of possible luminosity functions of the hard X-ray population, we find a relatively large correlation length, ranging from r_o ~ 9 to 19 h^{-1} Mpc (for gamma=1.8 and the concordance cosmological model), with this range reflecting also different evolutionary models for the source luminosities and clustering characteristics., Comment: In "Multiwavelength AGN Surveys" (Cozumel, December 8-12 2003), ed. R. Maiolino and R. Mujica, Singapore: World Scientific, 2004

We present an analysis of the X-ray spectral properties of 61 hard X-ray selected (2-8 keV) sources from the bright ($f_{2-8 keV}>10^{-14}$ \funits) {\it XMM-Newton}/2dF survey. This comprises of 9 {\it XMM-Newton} pointings in the North Galactic Pole region ($\sim 1.6 \rm deg^2$) and overlaps with the SDSS, 2QZ and 2dFGRS surveys. Our sources contribute about 50 per cent of the 2-10 keV X-ray background down to the flux limit of $10^{-14}$ cgs. The hardness ratio distribution of the sample suggests a deficit of heavily absorbed sources. A spectral fit to the co-added total source spectrum yields a steep photon index, $\Gamma=1.83^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$. All but 8 sources have optical counterparts down to the SDSS photometric limit of $r\approx22.5$. Spectroscopic identifications exist for 34 sources. The vast majority are associated with Broad-Line (BL) AGN (24 sources) while only 7 present narrow or no emission lines. Five sources are probably associated with Galactic stars. Finally, for another 17 probable AGN we present photometric redshifts. The combined spectrum of the 24 spectroscopically identified BL AGN is steep ($\Gamma=2.02^{+0.04}_{-0.05}$), while that of the 7 AGN, which do not present broad lines is flatter with $\Gamma=1.64^{+0.11}_{-0.11}$. The spectrum of the 8 optically unidentified sources is flat with $\Gamma\approx 1.1$. Spectral fits to the individual BL AGN reveal large absorption (rest-frame column density $\rm>10^{22} cm^{-2}$) in only two cases. The individual spectra of the NL AGN present significant evidence for even a moderate absorption ($\rm 3\times 10^{21} cm^{-2}$) in only one case., Comment: To appear in MNRAS