A Composite Seyfert 2 X-ray Spectrum: Implications for the Origin of the X-ray Background

Details A Composite Seyfert 2 X-ray Spectrum: Implications for the Origin of the X-ray Background A Composite Seyfert 2 X-ray Spectrum: Implications for the Origin of the X-ray Background

Oct 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000head....5.0106m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, HEAD Meeting #5, #01.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, p.1182

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It is frequently proposed that the majority of the cosmic X-ray background (XRB) is produced by heavily obscured AGNs. If this scenario is correct, the integrated 1--10 keV spectrum of such objects, which are expected to have Seyfert 2 optical classifications, should be as flat as (or flatter than) the spectrum of the XRB itself. While observations have shown that the intrinsically steep X-ray spectra of a number of Seyfert 2s are flattened due to transmission through dense material, it remains to be seen if this applies to all Seyfert 2 galaxies, and if their spectra, which display considerable diversity, combine to yield a spectrum whose shape is similar to that of the XRB. To investigate this issue, we have carried out an ASCA survey of a distance-limited sample of 30 nearby type 2 Seyfert galaxies. The majority of the objects in the sample are detected. Using the full dataset, we have constructed an unbiased, luminosity-weighted composite Seyfert 2 X-ray spectrum, which we compare to the spectrum of the XRB measured by ASCA. In addition, we have recently completed an optical spectropolarimetry survey of this entire sample of Seyfert 2s, which has revealed evidence for polarized broad emission lines in 11 of the objects. Using these results, we have compiled hard X-ray detection statistics and composite X-ray spectra separately for Seyfert 2s with and without evidence for polarized broad emission lines, which provides valuable insight into the issue of Seyfert unification.

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