Search

Context. Sources at the brightest end of the quasi-stellar object (QSO) luminosity function, during the peak epoch in the history of star formation and black hole accretion (z ∼ 2-4, often referred to as "Cosmic noon") are privileged sites to study the cycle of feeding & feedback processes in massive galaxies. Aims: We aim to perform the first systematic study of cold gas properties in the most luminous QSOs, by characterising their host-galaxies and environment. These targets exhibit indeed widespread evidence of outflows at nuclear and galactic scales. Methods: We analyse ALMA, NOEMA and JVLA observations of the far-infrared continuum, CO and [CII] emission lines in eight QSOs (bolometric luminosity LBol ≳ 3 × 1047 erg s-1) from the WISE-SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) QSOs sample at z ∼ 2.4-4.7. Results: We report a 100% emission line detection rate and a 80% detection rate in continuum emission, and we find CO emission to be consistent with the steepest CO ladders observed so far. Sub-millimetre data reveal presence of (one or more) bright companion galaxies around ∼80% of WISSH QSOs, at projected distances of ∼6-130 kpc. We observe a variety of sizes for the molecular gas reservoirs (∼1.7-10 kpc), mostly associated with rotating disks with disturbed kinematics. WISSH QSOs typically show lower CO luminosity and higher star formation efficiency than infrared matched, z ∼ 0-3 main-sequence galaxies, implying that, given the observed SFR ∼170-1100 M⊙ yr-1, molecular gas is converted into stars in ≲50 Myr. Most targets show extreme dynamical to black-hole mass ratios Mdyn/MBH ∼ 3-10, two orders of magnitude smaller than local relations. The molecular gas fraction in the host-galaxies of WISSH is lower by a factor of ∼10-100 than in star forming galaxies with similar M*. Conclusions: Our analysis reveals that hyper-luminous QSOs at Cosmic noon undergo an intense growth phase of both the central super-massive black hole and of the host-galaxy. These systems pinpoint the high-density sites where giant galaxies assemble, where we show that mergers play a major role in the build-up of the final host-galaxy mass. We suggest that the observed low molecular gas fraction and short depletion timescale are due to AGN feedback, whose presence is indicated by fast AGN-driven ionised outflows in all our targets.

Context. The eROSITA X-ray telescope on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) observatory combines a large field of view and collecting area in the energy range $\sim$0.2 to $\sim$8.0 keV with the capability to perform uniform scanning observations of large sky areas. Aims. SRG/eROSITA performed scanning observations of the $\sim$140 square degrees eROSITA Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS) field as part of its performance verification phase. The observing time was chosen to slightly exceed the depth of equatorial fields after the completion of the eROSITA all-sky survey. We present a catalog of detected X-ray sources in the eFEDS field providing source positions and extent information, as well as fluxes in multiple energy bands and document a suite of tools and procedures developed for eROSITA data processing and analysis, validated and optimized by the eFEDS work. Methods. A multi-stage source detection procedure was optimized and calibrated by performing realistic simulations of the eROSITA eFEDS observations. We cross-matched the eROSITA eFEDS source catalog with previous XMM-ATLAS observations, confirming excellent agreement of the eROSITA and XMM-ATLAS source fluxes. Result. We present a primary catalog of 27910 X-ray sources, including 542 with significant spatial extent, detected in the 0.2-2.3 keV energy range with detection likelihoods $\ge 6$, corresponding to a (point source) flux limit of $\approx 6.5 \times 10^{-15}$ erg/cm$^2$/s in the 0.5-2.0 keV energy band (80% completeness). A supplementary catalog contains 4774 low-significance source candidates with detection likelihoods between 5 and 6. In addition, a hard band sample of 246 sources detected in the energy range 2.3-5.0 keV above a detection likelihood of 10 is provided. The dedicated data analysis software package, calibration database, and calibrated data products are described in an appendix., 25 pages, 15 figures, accepted, A&A Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission

Based on ALMA Band 3 observations of the CO(2-1) line transition, we report the discovery of three new gas-rich (M_H2 ~ 1.5-4.8 x 10^10 M_sun, SFRs in the range ~5-100 M_sun/yr) galaxies in an overdense region at z=1.7, that already contains eight spectroscopically confirmed members. This leads to a total of 11 confirmed overdensity members, within a projected distance of ~ 1.15 Mpc and in a redshift range of Dz = 0.012. Under simple assumptions, we estimate that the system has a total mass of >= 3-6 x 10^13 M_sun, and show that it will likely evolve into a >~ 10^14 M_sun cluster at z = 0. The overdensity includes a powerful Compton-thick Fanaroff-Riley type II (FRII) radio-galaxy, around which we discovered a large molecular gas reservoir (M_H2 ~ 2 x 10^11 M_sun). We fitted the FRII resolved CO emission with a 2-D Gaussian model with major (minor) axis of ~ 27 (~ 17) kpc, that is a factor of ~3 larger than the optical rest-frame emission. Under the assumption of a simple edge-on disk morphology, we find that the galaxy interstellar medium produces a column density towards the nucleus of ~ 5.5 x 10^23 cm^-2. Such a dense ISM may then contribute significantly to the total nuclear obscuration measured in the X-rays (N_(H,X) ~ 1.5 x 10^24 cm^-2) in addition to a small, pc-scale absorber around the central engine. The velocity map of this source unveils a rotational motion of the gas that is perpendicular to the radio-jets. The FRII is located at the center of the projected spatial distribution of the structure members, and its velocity offset from the peak of the redshift distribution is well within the structure's velocity dispersion. All this, coupled with the large amount of gas around the FRII, its stellar mass of ~ 3 x 10^11 M_sun, SFR of ~ 200-600 M_sun/yr, and powerful radio-to-X-ray emission, suggests that this source is the likely progenitor of the future brightest cluster galaxy., 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication as a Letter in A&A

Aims. The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) was designed to conduct a blind search for AGN-driven outflows on X-ray-selected AGNs at redshift z ∼ 2 with high (∼2 kpc) spatial resolution, and to correlate them with the properties of their host galaxy and central black hole. The main aims of this paper are: (a) to derive reliable estimates for the masses of the black holes and accretion rates for the Type-1 AGNs in this survey; and (b) to characterise the properties of the AGN-driven winds in the broad line region (BLR). Methods. We analysed rest-frame optical and UV spectra of 21 Type-1 AGNs. We used Hα, Hβ, and MgII line profiles to estimate the masses of the black holes. We used the blueshift of the CIV line profile to trace the presence of winds in the BLR. Results. We find that the Hα and Hβ line widths are strongly correlated, as is the line continuum luminosity at 5100 Å with Hα line luminosity, resulting in a well-defined correlation between black hole masses estimated from Hα and Hβ. Using these lines, we estimate that the black hole masses for our objects are in the range Log (MBH/M⊙) = 8.4–10.8 and are accreting at λEdd = 0.04–1.3. Furthermore, we confirm the well-known finding that the CIV line width does not correlate with the Balmer lines and the peak of the line profile is blueshifted with respect to the [OIII]-based systemic redshift. These findings support the idea that the CIV line is tracing outflowing gas in the BLR for which we estimated velocities up to ∼4700 km s−1. We confirm the strong dependence of the BLR wind velocity on the UV-to-X-ray continuum slope, the bolometric luminosity, and Eddington ratio. We infer BLR mass outflow rates in the range 0.005–3 M⊙ yr−1, revealing a correlation with the bolometric luminosity consistent with that observed for ionised winds in the narrow line region (NLR), and X-ray winds detected in local AGNs, and kinetic power ∼10−7 − 10−4 × LBol. The coupling efficiencies predicted by AGN-feedback models are much higher than the values reported for the BLR winds in the SUPER sample; although it should be noted that only a fraction of the energy injected by the AGN into the surrounding medium is expected to become kinetic power in the outflow. Finally, we find an anti-correlation between the equivalent width of the [OIII] line and the CIV velocity shift, and a positive correlation between this latter parameter and [OIII] outflow velocity. These findings, for the first time in an unbiased sample of AGNs at z ∼ 2, support a scenario where BLR winds are connected to galaxy-scale detected outflows, and are therefore capable of affecting the gas in the NLR located at kiloparsec scale distances. We thank the anonymous referee for the useful comments that improved the paper. The scientific results reported in this article are based on observations collected at the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programs 196.A-0377 (SINFONI data) and LP175.A-0839 (zCOSMOS data), and SDSS. Funding for SDSS-III has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Energy Office of Science. The SDSS-III web site is http://www.sdss3.org/. SDSS-III is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions of the SDSS-III Collaboration including the University of Arizona, the Brazilian Participation Group, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Florida, the French Participation Group, the German Participation Group, Harvard University, the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, the Michigan State/Notre Dame/JINA Participation Group, Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, New Mexico State University, New York University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Portsmouth, Princeton University, the Spanish Participation Group, University of Tokyo, University of Utah, Vanderbilt University, University of Virginia, University of Washington, and Yale University. This research project was supported by the DFG Cluster of Excellence “Origin and Structure of the Universe” (universe-cluster.de). G. V. acknowledges financial support from Premiale 2015 MITic (PI B. Garilli). G. C., M. Bi, C. F. and F. F. acknowledge support from PRIN MIUR project “Black Hole winds and the Baryon Life Cycle of Galaxies: the stone-guest at the galaxy evolution supper”, contract #2017PH3WAT. M. P. is supported by the Programa Atracción de Talento de la Comunidad de Madrid via grant 2018-T2/TIC-11715.. With funding from the Spanish government through the "María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence" accreditation (MDM-2017-0737) Peer review

The SINFONI survey for Unveiling the Physics and Effect of Radiative feedback (SUPER) was designed to conduct a blind search for AGN-driven outflows on X-ray selected AGN at redshift z$\sim$2 with high ($\sim$2 kpc) spatial resolution, and correlate them to the properties of the host galaxy and central black hole. The main aims of this paper are: a) to derive reliable estimates for the BH mass and accretion rates for the Type-1 AGN in this survey; b) to characterize the properties of the AGN driven winds in the BLR. We analyzed rest-frame optical and UV spectra of 21 Type-1 AGN. We found that the BH masses estimated from H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ lines are in agreement. We estimate BH masses in the range Log(M$\rm_{BH}/M_{\odot}$)=8.4-10.8 and Eddington ratios $\rm\lambda_{Edd}$ =0.04-1.3. We confirm that the CIV line width does not correlate with the Balmer lines and the peak of the line profile is blue-shifted with respect to the [OIII]-based systemic redshift. These findings support the idea that the CIV line is tracing outflowing gas in the BLR, with velocities up to $\sim$4700 km/s. We confirm the strong dependence of the BLR wind velocity with the UV-to-Xray continuum slope, L$\rm_{Bol}$ and $\rm\lambda_{Edd}$. We inferred BLR mass outflow rates in the range 0.005-3 M$_{\odot}$/yr, showing a correlation with the bolometric luminosity consistent with that observed for ionized winds in the NLR and X-ray winds detected in local AGN, and kinetic power $\sim$10$^{[-7:-4]}\times$ L$\rm_{Bol}$. Finally, we found an anti-correlation between the equivalent width of the [OIII] line with respect to the CIV shift, and a positive correlation with [OIII] outflow velocity. These findings, for the first time in an unbiased sample of AGN at z$\sim$2, support a scenario where BLR winds are connected to galaxy scale detected outflows, and are capable of affecting the gas in the NLR located at kpc scale., Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A

We present X-ray spectra of 185 bright sources detected in the XMM-Newton deep survey of the Chandra Deep Field South, combining the three EPIC cameras. The 2-10 keV flux limit of the sample is 2e-15 erg/s/cm2. The sources are distributed over a redshift range of z=0.1-3.8. Eleven new X-ray redshift measurements are included. A spectral analysis was performed using a simple model to obtain absorbing column densities, rest-frame 2-10 keV luminosities and Fe K line properties of 180 sources at z>0.4. Obscured AGN are found to be more abundant toward higher redshifts. Using the XMM-Newton data alone, seven Compton-thick AGN candidates are identified, which makes the Compton-thick AGN fraction to be ~4%. An exploratory spectral inspection method with two rest-frame X-ray colours and an Fe line strength indicator is introduced and tested against the results from spectral fitting. This method works reasonably well to characterise a spectral shape and can be useful for a pre-selection of Compton-thick AGN candidates. We found six objects exhibiting broad Fe K lines out of 21 unobscured AGN of best data quality, implying a detection rate of ~30%. Five redshift spikes, each of which has more than six sources, are identified in the redshift distribution of the X-ray sources. Contrary to the overall trend, the sources at the two higher-redshift spikes at z=1.61 and z=2.57 have puzzlingly low obscuration., Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Table 1 and Fig. 2 are available in electronic form the CDS. Typos corrected and some language editing and references added

Context. Finding the sources responsible for the hydrogen reionization is one of the most pressing issues in observational cosmology. Bright quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are known to ionize their surrounding neighborhood, but they are too few to ensure the required HI ionizing background. A significant contribution by faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs), however, could solve the problem, as recently advocated on the basis of a relatively large space density of faint active nuclei at z > 4. Aims. This work is part of a long-term project aimed at measuring the Lyman Continuum escape fraction for a large sample of AGNs at z similar to 4 down to an absolute magnitude of M-1450 similar to-23. We have carried out an exploratory spectroscopic program to measure the HI ionizing emission of 16 faint AGNs spanning a broad U-I color interval, with I similar to 21-23, and 3.6 < z < 4.2. These AGNs are three magnitudes fainter than the typical SDSS QSOs (M-1450 less than or similar to -26) which are known to ionize their surrounding IGM at z > 4. Methods. We acquired deep spectra of these faint AGNs with spectrographs available at the VLT, LBT, and Magellan telescopes, that is, FORS2, MODS1-2, and LDSS3, respectively. The emission in the Lyman Continuum region, close to 900 A rest frame, has been detected with a signal to noise ratio of similar to 10-120 for all 16 AGNs. The flux ratio between the 900 A rest-frame region and 930 A provides a robust estimate of the escape fraction of HI ionizing photons. Results. We have found that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction is between 44 and 100\% for all the observed faint AGNs, with a mean value of 74\% at 3.6 < z < 4.2 and -25.1 less than or similar to M-1450 less than or similar to -23.3, in agreement with the value found in the literature for much brighter QSOs (M-1450 less than or similar to -26) at the same redshifts. The Lyman Continuum escape fraction of our faint AGNs does not show any dependence on the absolute luminosities or on the observed U-I colors of the objects. Assuming that the Lyman Continuum escape fraction remains close to -75\% down to M-1450 similar to-18, we find that the AGN population can provide between 16 and 73\% (depending on the adopted luminosity function) of the whole ionizing UV background at z similar to 4, measured through the Lyman forest. This contribution increases to 25-100\% if other determinations of the ionizing UV background are adopted from the recent literature. Conclusions. Extrapolating these results to z similar to 5-7, there are possible indications that bright QSOs and faint AGNs can provide a significant contribution to the reionization of the Universe, if their space density is high at M-1450 similar to 23.

In the context of the upcoming SRG/eROSITA survey, we present an N-body simulation-based mock catalogue for X-ray-selected active galactic nucleus (AGN) samples. The model reproduces the observed hard X-ray AGN luminosity function (XLF) and the soft X-ray logN-logS from redshift 0 to 6. The XLF is reproduced to within +/- 5 per cent and the logN-logS to within +/- 20 per cent. We develop a joint X-ray - optical extinction and classification model. We adopt a set of empirical spectral energy distributions to predict observed magnitudes in the UV, optical, and NIR. With the latest eROSITA all sky survey sensitivity model, we create a high-fidelity full-sky mock catalogue of X-ray AGN. It predicts their distributions in right ascension, declination, redshift, and fluxes. Using empirical medium resolution optical spectral templates and an exposure time calculator, we find that 1.1 x 10(6) (4 x 10(5)) fibre-hours are needed to follow-up spectroscopically from the ground the detected X-ray AGN with an optical magnitude 21

Powerful winds driven by supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are likely the main mechanism through which SMBHs regulate their own growth and influence the host galaxy evolution. However, their origin and their capability to impact the large-scale environment are still highly debated. Fundamental results will come from high-energy and spatial resolution X-ray observatories., Science White Paper Submitted for the Astro2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics

Powerful winds driven by SMBHs are likely the main mechanism through which SMBHs regulate their own growth and influence the host galaxy evolution. However, their origin and their capability to impact the large-scale environment are still highly debated. Fundamental results will come from high-energy and spatial resolution X-ray observatories.

Aims. The unusual transient ATLAS17aeu was serendipitously detected within the sky localisation of the gravitational wave trigger GW 170104. The importance of a possible association with gravitational waves coming from a binary black hole merger led to an extensive follow-up campaign, with the aim of assessing a possible connection with GW 170104. Methods. With several telescopes, we carried out both photometric and spectroscopic observations of ATLAS17aeu, for several epochs, between ∼3 and ∼230 days after the first detection. Results. We studied in detail the temporal and spectroscopic properties of ATLAS17aeu and its host galaxy. Although at low significance and not conclusive, we found similarities to the spectral features of a broad-line supernova superposed onto an otherwise typical long-GRB afterglow. Based on analysis of the optical light curve, spectrum, and host galaxy spectral energy distribution, we conclude that the redshift of the source is probably z 0.5 ±0.2. Conclusions. While the redshift range we have determined is marginally compatible with that of the gravitational wave event, the presence of a supernova component and the consistency of this transient with the E-E correlation support the conclusion that ATLAS17aeu was associated with the long gamma-ray burst GRB 170105A. This rules out the association of the GRB 170105A/ATLAS17aeu transient with the gravitational wave event GW 170104, which was due to a binary black hole merger.© 2019 ESO., AR acknowledges support from Premiale LBT 2013. AJCT thanks the Spanish Ministry Project AYA2015-71718-R (including FEDER funds). LT and SB are partially supported by the PRIN-INAF 2016 with the project “Toward the SKA and CTA era: discovery, localisation, and physics of transient sources”. Partially based on observations collected at the Copernico 1.82 m telescope (Asi-ago, Italy) of the INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova. JH was supported by a VILLUM FONDEN Investigator grant (project number 16599). AFV is thankful to the Russian Science Foundation (grant 14-50-00043)

The origin of the tight correlations observed between the masses of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and host galaxy properties is still debated. Negative feedback from AGN can provide a viable explanation for these correlations. According to the theoretical models, the ejective feedback resulting from radiatively-efficient episodes of gas accretion onto SMBHs may be the main responsible for the rapid shut-off of star formation and black hole growth in the early stages of the evolution of present-day massive galaxies, which must have taken place at z>2. Here we present near-IR (SINFONI) and millimetre (ALMA) observations of z~2.5 luminous (Lbol>1e47 Lsun) quasars showing fast and extended ionised outflows. These AGN-driven outflows appear to be able to expel a large fraction of molecular and ionised gas and suppress star formation in the outflow region. However, the detection of Halpha emission along the edges of the outflow cone indicates on-going star formation rates of at least 50 Msun/yr, suggesting either that AGN feedback does not affect the whole galaxy or that many feedback episodes are required before star formation is completely quenched. On the other hand, the detection also lead to a positive feedback interpretation: the AGN-driven outflow compress the surrounding gas inducing star formation. Our results highlight the possible double role of galaxy-wide outflows in host galaxy evolution. This is also supported by recent observations in the local Universe indicate that massive galactic outflows may ignite star formation within the outflow itself. We also present new ALMA observations of a sample of quasars at z∼6 optimised to investigate the extended emission associated with outflows as traced by the [CII]158μm line. Although strong and powerful AGN-driven outflows are expected at these redshifts, our analysis suggests that such outflows may not be as effective as expected in removing gas out of their host galaxies.

We report on the status of on-going, deep multi-band observations inthe field around the z=6.31 QSO SDSS J1030+0524, where an overdensityof candidate Lyman Break Galaxies at the QSO redshift was found. Theobservations include a large program with Chandra, deep JVLAobservations, and a strategic LBT program for opticalspectroscopy.Additional imaging and spectroscopic coverage isprovided, among others, by HST, VLT/MUSE, Keck and Spitzer data. The J1030 field is currently the 4th deepest X-ray survey, one of thefew radio fields observed at microJy depth, and the only deepmulti-bandsurvey in a highly biased region of the early Universe. We are collecting and organizing all multi-band data in a publicdatabase that can be effectively exploited by the AGN community. Examples of preliminary results from these data include: i) the firstspectroscopic confirmation of a few galaxies at the redshift of SDSSJ1030+0524, and ii) the discovery of a proto-cluster at z=1.7 around aCompton-thick FRII radio-galaxy.

I will review the most important results from near-IR spectroscopic observations of WISE/SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) quasars, designed to accurately probe the role of nuclear activity in SMBH-galaxy self-regulated growth via extended outflows. The total sample consists of 90 broad-line quasars at the brightest end of theAGNluminosity function (L_bol > 1014 L_sun) and at the peak of their number density (z ~ 2.5 - 3.5). We found that WISSH quasars are typically powered by highly accreting (0.3-3 Ledd), ten billion solar masses SMBHs, demonstrating that WISSH provides a simple and valuable tool to complete the census of the extreme SMBH population in the Universe. The huge luminosity drives very powerful winds both at BLR and NLR scales. We discovered [OIII] emission lines with a broad profile, tracing ionized outflows with kinetic power up to ~4% of L_bol in ~30% of the sample.Remarkably, the remaining 70% of quasars lacks [OIII] emission but shows strong winds traced by 3,000-8,000 km/s blueshifts of the CIV broad emission line, revealing strong radiatively driven winds that dominate the BLR kinematics. Finally, I will discuss nuclear and outflows properties of WISSH quasars in terms of inclination angle and fundamentalAGNparameters such as bolometric luminosity, SMBH mass, Eddington ratio and the shape of the UV-X-ray continuum.

The physical mechanism(s) driving the "quenching" of the star formation activity in galaxies, remains one of the least understood puzzles in the galaxy formation theoretical framework. According to the most recent theoretical models, the energetic feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is believed to provide an effective mechanism to eject the gas away from the galaxy by powerful winds in very massive galaxies. However, below halo masses of 1012Mo the galactic winds driven by the energy and momentum imprinted by massive stars to the surrounding ISM, are believed to be sufficiently energetic to eject the gas away from the galaxy potential well and stop the star formation. In order to unmasking the nature of these two quenching processes (AGN and SF), we analyzed a complete spectroscopic galaxy sample (~600 000 spectra) drawn from the SDSS to look for evidence of galactic winds in the local Universe. We focused on the shape of the [OIII]λ5007 emission line and interstellar Na I λ5890, 5895 (Na D) resonant line profiles as tracers of ionizing and neutral gas outflows, respectively. I will show how the average [OIII]λ5007 and NaD line profile changes as function of star formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, disk inclination and nature of the dominant ionizing source in different BPT classes. We find that, statistically, only “Light Breeze" can be observed in the local Universe only in AGN dominated sources. For purely SF galaxies we do not observe ionized gas outflows regardless of the SFR level. Only at very high SFR we detect a blue-shifted NaD line profile, likely indicating bulk motion of neutral gas from the disk. The additional analysis of Manga IFU data for a galaxy subsample (~1000 galaxies) sheds light on the different nature of the [OIII]λ5007 and NaD line profile outflows. Both the integrated and spatially resolved data show that the galactic winds in local Universe have “Two Faces” which are related to two different ejection mechanisms, namely the neutral outflowing gas phase connected to the star formation rate along the galaxy disk and, the ionized winds related to the AGN feedback.

We present VLT/X-Shooter and MUSE spectroscopy of a faint F814W = 28.60 ± 0.33 ({M}{UV}=-17.0), low-mass (≲{10}7{M}☉ ), and compact (R eff = 62 pc) freshly star-forming galaxy at z = 3.1169 magnified (16×) by the Hubble Frontier Fields galaxy cluster Abell S1063. Gravitational lensing allows for a significant jump toward low-luminosity regimes, in moderately high-resolution spectroscopy (R=λ /dλ ∼ 3000{--}7400). We measured C IV λ 1548,1550, He II λ 1640, O III]λ 1661,1666, C III]λ λ 1907,1909, Hβ, [O III]λ λ 4959,5007 emission lines with {FWHM}≲ 50 km s-1 and (de-lensed) fluxes spanning the interval 1.0× {10}-19{--}2× {10}-18 erg s-1 cm-2 at signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 4-30. The double-peaked Lyα emission with {{∆ }}v({red}-{blue})=280(±7) km s-1 and de-lensed fluxes {2.4}({blue)}| {8.5}({red)}× {10}-18 erg s-1 cm-2 (S/N = {38}({blue)}| {110}({red)}) indicate a low column density of neutral hydrogen gas consistent with a highly ionized interstellar medium as also inferred from the large [O III]λ 5007/ [O II]λ 3727 \gt \quad 10 ratio. We detect C IV λ 1548,1550 resonant doublet in emission, each component with {FWHM}≲ 45 km s-1 and redshifted by +51(±10) km s-1 relative to the systemic redshift. We interpret this as nebular emission tracing an expanding optically thin interstellar medium. Both C IV λ 1548,1550 and He II λ 1640 suggest the presence of hot and massive stars (with a possible faint active galactic nucleus). The ultraviolet slope is remarkably blue, β =-2.95+/- 0.20 ({F}λ ={λ }β ), consistent with a dust-free and young ≲20 Myr galaxy. Line ratios suggest an oxygen abundance 12 + log(O/H)\quad \lt \quad 7.8. We are witnessing an early episode of star formation in which a relatively low N H I and negligible dust attenuation might favor a leakage of ionizing radiation. This galaxy currently represents a unique low-luminosity reference object for future studies of the reionization epoch with the James Webb Space Telescope. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory for Astronomical research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO programs P095.A-0840, P095.A-0653, P186.A-0798.

The active galactic nuclei (AGN) X-ray luminosity function traces actively accreting supermassive black holes and is essential for the study of the properties of the AGN population, black hole evolution, and galaxy-black hole coevolution. Up to now, the AGN luminosity function has been estimated several times in soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard X-rays (2-10 keV). AGN selection in these energy ranges often suffers from identification and redshift incompleteness and, at the same time, photoelectric absorption can obscure a significant amount of the X-ray radiation. We estimate the evolution of the luminosity function in the 5-10 keV band, where we effectively avoid the absorbed part of the spectrum, rendering absorption corrections unnecessary up to NH ~ 1023 cm-2. Our dataset is a compilation of six wide, and deep fields: MAXI, HBSS, XMM-COSMOS, Lockman Hole, XMM-CDFS, AEGIS-XD, Chandra-COSMOS, and Chandra-CDFS. This extensive sample of ~1110 AGN (0.01 < z < 4.0, 41 < log Lx < 46) is 98% redshift complete with 68% spectroscopic redshifts. For sources lacking a spectroscopic redshift estimation we use the probability distribution function of photometric redshift estimation specifically tuned for AGN, and a flat probability distribution function for sources with no redshift information. We use Bayesian analysis to select the best parametric model from simple pure luminosity and pure density evolution to more complicated luminosity and density evolution and luminosity-dependent density evolution (LDDE). We estimate the model parameters that describe best our dataset separately for each survey and for the combined sample. We show that, according to Bayesian model selection, the preferred model for our dataset is the LDDE. Our estimation of the AGN luminosity function does not require any assumption on the AGN absorption and is in good agreement with previous works in the 2-10 keV energy band based on X-ray hardness ratios to model the absorption in AGN up to redshift three. Our sample does not show evidence of a rapid decline of the AGN luminosity function up to redshift four.

Fast and energetic winds are invoked by galaxy formation models as essential processes in the evolution of galaxies. These outflows can be powered either by star formation (SF) and/or active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity, but the relative dominance of the two mechanisms is still under debate. We use spectroscopic stacking analysis to study the properties of the low-ionization phase of the outflow in a sample of 1330 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and 79 X-ray-detected (1042 < LX < 1045 erg s−1) Type 2 AGN at 1.7 < z < 4.6 selected from a compilation of deep optical spectroscopic surveys, mostly zCOSMOS-Deep and VIMOS Ultra Deep Survey (VUDS). We measure mean velocity offsets of ∼− 150 km s−1 in the SFGs, while in the AGN sample the velocity is much higher (∼− 950 km s−1), suggesting that the AGN is boosting the outflow up to velocities that could not be reached only with the SF contribution. The sample of X-ray AGN has on average a lower SF rate than non-AGN SFGs of similar mass: this, combined with the enhanced outflow velocity in AGN hosts, is consistent with AGN feedback in action. We further divide our sample of AGN into two X-ray luminosity bins: we measure the same velocity offsets in both stacked spectra, at odds with results reported for the highly ionized phase in local AGN, suggesting that the two phases of the outflow may be mixed only up to relatively low velocities, while the highest velocities can be reached only by the highly ionized phase., This work is supported by funding from the European Research Council Advanced Grant ERC–2010–AdG–268107–EARLY and by INAF Grants PRIN 2010, PRIN 2012 and PICS 2013. AC, OC, and MT acknowledge the grant MIUR PRIN 2010–2011. MB acknowledges support from the FP7 grant ‘eEASy’: (CIG 321913). RA acknowledges support from the ERC Advanced Grant 695671 ‘QUENCH’. We acknowledge the grants ASI n.I/023/12/0 ‘Attività relative alla fase B2/C per la missione Euclid’ and MIUR PRIN 2010-2011 ‘The dark Universe and the cosmic evolution of baryons: from current surveys to Euclid’ and PRIN MIUR 2015 ‘Cosmology and Fundamental Physics: illuminating the Dark Universe with Euclid’.

Type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) represent the majority of the AGN population. However, due to the difficulties in measuring their black hole (BH) masses, it is still unknown whether they follow the same BH mass-host galaxy scaling relations valid for quiescent galaxies and type 1 AGN. Here we present the locus of type 2 AGN having virial BH mass estimates in the $M_{BH}-\sigma_\star$ plane. Our analysis shows that the BH masses of type 2 AGN are $\sim0.9$ dex smaller than type 1 AGN at $\sigma_\star\sim 185$ km s$^{-1}$, regardless of the (early/late) AGN host galaxy morphology. Equivalently, type 2 AGN host galaxies have stellar velocity dispersions $\sim 0.2$ dex higher than type 1 AGN hosts at $M_{BH}\sim10^7$ M$_\odot$., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

A WISE/SDSS-selected hyper-luminous quasar (WISSH) survey study on the BLR and galaxy scale winds

The coeval AGN and galaxy evolution and the observed local relations between SMBHs and galaxy properties suggest some connection or feedback between SMBH growth and galaxy build-up. We looked for correlations between properties of X-ray detected AGN and their FIR detected host galaxies, to find quantitative evidences for this connection, highly debated in the latest years. We exploit the rich multi-wavelength data set available in the COSMOS field for a large sample (692 sources) of AGN and their hosts, in the redshift range $0.1, Comment: 13 pages, 11 fugures, accepted for publication in A&A

Type 2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) represent the majority of the AGN population. However, due to the difficulties in measuring their black hole (BH) masses, it is still unknown whether they follow the same BH mass-host galaxy scaling relations valid for quiescent galaxies and type 1 AGN. Here we present the locus of type 2 AGN having virial BH mass estimates in the $M_{BH}-��_\star$ plane. Our analysis shows that the BH masses of type 2 AGN are $\sim0.9$ dex smaller than type 1 AGN at $��_\star\sim 185$ km s$^{-1}$, regardless of the (early/late) AGN host galaxy morphology. Equivalently, type 2 AGN host galaxies have stellar velocity dispersions $\sim 0.2$ dex higher than type 1 AGN hosts at $M_{BH}\sim10^7$ M$_\odot$., 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

We present the measurement of the projected and redshift space 2-point correlation function (2pcf) of the new catalog of Chandra COSMOS-Legacy AGN at 2.9$\leq$z$\leq$5.5 ($\langle L_{bol} \rangle \sim$10$^{46}$ erg/s) using the generalized clustering estimator based on phot-z probability distribution functions (Pdfs) in addition to any available spec-z. We model the projected 2pcf estimated using $��_{max}$ = 200 h$^{-1}$ Mpc with the 2-halo term and we derive a bias at z$\sim$3.4 equal to b = 6.6$^{+0.60}_{-0.55}$, which corresponds to a typical mass of the hosting halos of log M$_h$ = 12.83$^{+0.12}_{-0.11}$ h$^{-1}$ M$_{\odot}$. A similar bias is derived using the redshift-space 2pcf, modelled including the typical phot-z error $��_z$ = 0.052 of our sample at z$\geq$2.9. Once we integrate the projected 2pcf up to $��_{max}$ = 200 h$^{-1}$ Mpc, the bias of XMM and \textit{Chandra} COSMOS at z=2.8 used in Allevato et al. (2014) is consistent with our results at higher redshift. The results suggest only a slight increase of the bias factor of COSMOS AGN at z$\gtrsim$3 with the typical hosting halo mass of moderate luminosity AGN almost constant with redshift and equal to logM$_h$ = 12.92$^{+0.13}_{-0.18}$ at z=2.8 and log M$_h$ = 12.83$^{+0.12}_{-0.11}$ at z$\sim$3.4, respectively. The observed redshift evolution of the bias of COSMOS AGN implies that moderate luminosity AGN still inhabit group-sized halos at z$\gtrsim$3, but slightly less massive than observed in different independent studies using X-ray AGN at z$\leq2$., Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal

The physics and demographics of high redshift obscured active galactic nuclei is still scarcely studied, and new samples of such objects, selected with different techniques, can provide useful insights into their physical nature. A sample of 90 narrow-line with 1.5< z < 3.0 was selected from the zCOSMOS-deep galaxy sample by detection of the high-ionization CIV 1549A emission line. The presence of this feature in a galaxy spectrum is indicative of nuclear activity, and the selection effectiveness has been also confirmed by ultraviolet emission line diagnostic diagrams. Taking advantage of the large amount of data available in the COSMOS field, the properties of the \civ-selected Type 2 AGN were analyzed, focusing on their host galaxies, X-ray emission, and UV emission line characteristics. Finally, the physical properties of the ionized gas in the Narrow Line Region have been investigated, combining the analysis of strong UV emission lines with the prediction from photoionization models.

(On behalf of the WISSH collaboration) The WISE/SDSS-selected hyper-luminous quasar (WISSH) survey is an extensive multi-band observing program to investigate the role of nuclear activity in SMBH-galaxy self-regulated growth via extended outflows. Our ongoing project is designed to accurately probe the relationship between nuclear and host galaxy ISM properties in a large sample of ~90 quasars at the brightest end of the AGN luminosity function (log LBol > 47.3) and at the peak of their number density (z~2.5-3.5)We will report on the discovery of highly accreting (0.3-3Ledd), ten billion solar masses SMBHs being able to produce very powerful (up to ~ 4% of L_bol) ionized outflows and accretion disk windsThe impact of AGN-driven feedback on their host galaxies will be also discussed.

To reproduce the properties of galaxies in the local Universe, as well as the scaling relations between host galaxies and black holes properties, many galaxy formation models invoke the presence of fast and energetic winds extending over galaxy scales. These massive gas outflows can be powered either by star-formation (SF) or AGN activity, though the relative dominance and efficiency of the different mechanisms is not yet fully understoodIn the last decade much effort has been put in the search for observational evidence of such phenomena, especially at the peak of both SF and AGN activity through cosmic time (11.7 from large optical spectroscopic surveys (zCOSMOS, VUDS, ESO public surveys), complemented with HST imaging, X-ray (Chandra) and IR data. The richness of available data for our sample allowed us to map a large portion of the physical parameters space. We concentrated our analysis on the ISM absorption lines in the rest-frame UV wavelength range. Through stacking tecniques we studied the relation between such lines and AGN and SFG properties. I will present our results (Talia et al. 2016, in prep.) and discuss how they are contributing to uncover the key role played by outflows in galaxy evolution.

We present the clustering properties of a complete sample of 957 radio sources detected by the VLA-COSMOS survey with radio fluxes brighter than 0.15 mJy. Based on their radio-luminosity, these objects have been furtherly divided into two populations of 642 AGN and 246 star-forming galaxies. Investigations of their clustering properties return values for the minimum masses of dark matter haloes capable to host at least one of such sources of Mmin=10^13.6 Msun for radio-selected AGN and Mmin=10^13.1 Msun for radio-emitting star-forming galaxies. Comparisons with previous works imply an independence of the clustering properties of the AGN population with respect to both radio luminosity and redshift. We also investigate the relationship between dark and luminous matter in both populations. Our results indicate a larger relative stellar content in the star-forming population with respect to AGN and also clearly show the cosmic process of star-formation build-up as one moves towards the more local universe. Comparisons between the observed space density of radio-selected AGN and that of dark matter haloes shows that about one in two haloes is associated with a black hole in its radio-active phase. This suggests that the radio-active phase is a recurrent phenomenon.

The WISE/SDSS selected hyper-luminous (WISSH) quasars survey is an extensive multiband observing program (from millimeter wavelengths to hard X rays) to investigate the role of nuclear activity in SMBH-galaxy self-regulated growth via extended outflows. Our ongoing project is designed to accurately constrain both AGN and host galaxy ISM properties in a large sample of ~ 90 broad-line quasars at the brightest end of the AGN luminosity function (L_bol > 1e14 L_sun) and at the peak of their number density (z ~ 2 - 4)I will review the most relevant results obtained to date with emphasis on the discovery of extremely powerful (up to ~ 4% of L_bol) ionized outflows, the relation between AGN properties (obscuration, luminosity and Eddington ratio) and large-scale winds, and the SED of these hyper-luminous quasars.

Powerful ionised AGN-driven outflows, commonly detected both locally and at high redshift, are invoked to contribute to the co-evolution of SMBH and galaxies through feedback phenomena. Our recent works (Brusa+2015; 2016; Perna+2015a,b) have shown that the XMM-COSMOS targets with evidence of outflows collected so far (~10 sources) appear to be associated with low X–ray kbol corrections (Lbol /LX ≈ 18), in spite of their spread in obscuration, in the locations on the SFR-Mstar diagram, in their radio emission. A higher statistical significance is required to validate a connection between outflow phenomena and a X-ray loudness. Moreover, in order to validate their binding nature to the galaxy fate, it is crucial to correctly determine the outflow energetics. This requires time consuming integral field spectroscopic (IFS) observations, which are, at present, mostly limited to high luminosity objectsThe study of SDSS data offers a complementary strategy to IFS efforts. I will present physical and demographic characterization of the AGN-galaxy system during the feedback phase obtained studying a sample of ~ 500 X-ray/SDSS AGNs, at z

The systematic exploration of hyper-luminous (log LBol > 47) quasars shining at the golden epoch of AGN activity (i.e. z~2-4) offer the opportunity of overcoming the luminosity bias in the exploration of the accretion phenomenon. The WISE All-Sky Survey allowed to spot the most luminous quasars in the universe. In this talk, we will present the results of our on-going study of the XMM/Chandra/NuSTAR observations of WISE-selected hyper-luminous quasars regardless of the amount of their obscuration (i.e. both blue and heavily reddened). We report on the correlations between the X-ray and Optical, UV and MIR properties, and on the behavior of the X-ray bolometric correction at the brightest end of the luminosity function. We find that WISE-selected hyper-luminous quasars show much lower X/Opt flux and X/MIR luminosity ratios than those of AGN typically studied so far. This “X-ray weakness” can be a key ingredient for accelerating powerful ionized outflows (pervasively detected in the UV/optical band) and, furthermore, radiation-driven winds can be effective in destroying the X-ray corona and quenching the X-ray emission.

Aims. Outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are invoked by galaxy evolutionary models to quench star formation and to explain the origin of the relations observed locally between super-massive black holes and their host galaxies. We here aim to detect extended ionised outflows in luminous quasars, where we expect the highest activity both in star formation and in black-hole accretion. Currently, there are only a few studies based on spatially resolved observations of outflows at high redshift, z > 2. Methods. We analysed a sample of six luminous (L > 10(47) erg/s) quasars at z similar to 2.4, observed in H-band using the near-IR integral field spectrometer SINFONI at the VLT. We performed a kinematic analysis of the [OIII] emission line at lambda = 5007 angstrom. Results. We detect fast, spatially extended outflows in five out of six targets. [OIII]lambda 5007 has a complex gas kinematic, with blue-shifted velocities of a few hundreds of km s(-1) and line widths up to 1500 km s(-1). Using the spectroastrometric method, we infer a size of the ionised outflows of up to similar to 2 kpc. The properties of the ionised outflows, mass outflow rate, momentum rate, and kinetic power, are correlated with the AGN luminosity. The increase in outflow rate with increasing AGN luminosity is consistent with the idea that a luminous AGN pushes away the surrounding gas through fast outflows that are driven by radiation pressure, which depends on the emitted luminosity. Conclusions. We derive mass outflow rates of about 6 700 M-circle dot yr(-1) for our sample, which are lower than those observed in molecular outflows. The physical properties of ionised outflows show dependences on AGN luminosity that are similar to those of molecular outflows, but indicate that the mass of ionised gas is lower than that of molecular outflows. Alternatively, this discrepancy between ionised and molecular outflows could be explained with different acceleration mechanisms.

著者人数: 36名, Accepted: 2013-05-22, 資料番号: SA1004651000

The epoch between redshift of 1-3 has become the prime focus of many galaxy evolutionary studies as the accretion rates of super massive black holes at the galactic center and the star formation rates of their hosts peaked around this period, pointing to their co-evolution throughout cosmic history. We will present two different approaches to study the impact of high redshift AGN (z~1.5) on the host galaxy: a) CO(2-1) observations from ALMA in a sample of "main sequence" AGNs to compare the star formation efficiency and gas fractions in active and inactive galaxies. b) SINFONI-IFU observations of a representative sample of high redshift quasars for which we observe intermediate to high velocity outflows using [OIII]5007 line diagnostics. These outflows are extended up-to kiloparsec scales and have an asymmetric geometry. With these approaches, one is able to test the effect of AGN feedback on the molecular as well as the ionized gas content.

We present the largest high-redshift (30 at z>3. We compute the number counts in the observed 0.5-2 keV band, finding a decline in the number of sources at z>3 and constraining phenomenological models of X-ray background. We compute the AGN space density at z>3 in two different luminosity bins. At higher luminosities (logL(2-10 keV) > 44.1 erg/s) the space density declines exponentially, dropping by a factor ~20 from z~3 to z~6. The observed decline is ~80% steeper at lower luminosities (43.55 erg/s < logL(2-10 keV) < 44.1 erg/s), from z~3 to z~4.5. We study the space density evolution dividing our sample in optically classified Type 1 and Type 2 AGN. At logL(2-10 keV) > 44.1 erg/s, unobscured and obscured objects may have different evolution with redshift, the obscured component being three times higher at z~5. Finally, we compare our space density with predictions of quasar activation merger models, whose calibration is based on optically luminous AGN. These models significantly overpredict the number of expected AGN at logL(2-10 keV) > 44.1 erg/s with respect to our data., Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication on ApJ

PG1247+267 is one of the most luminous known quasars at $z\sim2$ and is a strongly super-Eddington accreting SMBH candidate. We obtained NuSTAR data of this intriguing source in December 2014 with the aim of studying its high-energy emission, leveraging the broad band covered by the new NuSTAR and the archival XMM-Newton data. Several measurements are in agreement with the super-Eddington scenario for PG1247+267: the soft power law ($\Gamma=2.3\pm0.1$); the weak ionized Fe emission line and a hint of the presence of outflowing ionized gas surrounding the SMBH. The presence of an extreme reflection component is instead at odds with the high accretion rate proposed for this quasar. This can be explained with three different scenarios; all of them are in good agreement with the existing data, but imply very different conclusions: i) a variable primary power law observed in a low state, superimposed on a reflection component echoing a past, higher flux state; ii) a power law continuum obscured by an ionized, Compton thick, partial covering absorber; and iii) a relativistic disk reflector in a lamp-post geometry, with low coronal height and high BH spin. The first model is able to explain the high reflection component in terms of variability. The second does not require any reflection to reproduce the hard emission, while a rather low high-energy cutoff of $\sim100$ keV is detected for the first time in such a high redshift source. The third model require a face-on geometry, which may affect the SMBH mass and Eddington ratio measurements. Deeper X-ray broad-band data are required in order to distinguish between these possibilities., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure. Accepted for publication in A&A

The active galactic nuclei X-ray luminosity function traces actively accreting supermassive black holes and is essential for the study of the properties of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) population, black hole evolution, and galaxy-black hole coevolution. Up to now, the AGN luminosity function has been estimated several times in soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard X-rays (2-10 keV). AGN selection in these energy ranges often suffers from identification and redshift incompleteness and, at the same time, photoelectric absorption can obscure a significant amount of the X-ray radiation. We estimate the evolution of the luminosity function in the 5-10 keV band, where we effectively avoid the absorbed part of the spectrum, rendering absorption corrections unnecessary up to NH=10^23 cm^-2. Our dataset is a compilation of six wide, and deep fields: MAXI, HBSS, XMM-COSMOS, Lockman Hole, XMM-CDFS, AEGIS-XD, Chandra-COSMOS, and Chandra-CDFS. This extensive sample of ~1110 AGN (0.01, Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Fast and energetic winds are invoked by galaxy formation models as essential processes in the evolution of galaxies. These outflows can be powered either by star-formation and/or AGN activity, but the relative dominance of the two mechanisms is still under debate. We use spectroscopic stacking analysis to study the properties of the low-ionization phase of the outflow in a sample of 1330 star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and 79 X-ray detected (42, MNRAS in press, 10 figures, 3 tables. Major update with respect to previous version: X-ray Chandra catalogues were upgraded to the latest available versions (Chandra 7Ms and COSMOS-Legacy). The mass-matched sample of SFGs was also re-defined. Major results are unchanged

The active galactic nuclei X-ray luminosity function traces actively accreting supermassive black holes and is essential for the study of the properties of the active galactic nuclei (AGN) population, black hole evolution, and galaxy-black hole coevolution. Up to now, the AGN luminosity function has been estimated several times in soft (0.5-2 keV) and hard X-rays (2-10 keV). AGN selection in these energy ranges often suffers from identification and redshift incompleteness and, at the same time, photoelectric absorption can obscure a significant amount of the X-ray radiation. We estimate the evolution of the luminosity function in the 5-10 keV band, where we effectively avoid the absorbed part of the spectrum, rendering absorption corrections unnecessary up to NH=10^23 cm^-2. Our dataset is a compilation of six wide, and deep fields: MAXI, HBSS, XMM-COSMOS, Lockman Hole, XMM-CDFS, AEGIS-XD, Chandra-COSMOS, and Chandra-CDFS. This extensive sample of ~1110 AGN (0.01, 16 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

Context. X-ray extragalactic surveys are ideal laboratories for the study of the evolution and clustering of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Usually, a combination of deep and wide surveys is necessary to create a complete picture of the population. Deep X-ray surveys provide the faint population at high redshift, while wide surveys provide the rare bright sources. Nevertheless, very wide area surveys often lack the ancillary information available for modern deep surveys. The XXL survey spans two fields of a combined 50 deg(2) observed for more than 6Ms with XMM-Newton, occupying the parameter space that lies between deep surveys and very wide area surveys; at the same time it benefits from a wealth of ancillary data.

Here we present some preliminary results obtained for a sample of X-ray selected, luminous and obscured (Type 2) quasars at z approximate to 1-2 observed in the near- and mid-IR with Spitzer. In particular, adopting a torus configuration for the obscuring (and reprocessing) matter and fitting the quasar Spectral Energy Distributions (SFDs), we estimate some geometric parameters for the torus like tau(9.7 mu m) and full covering angle, and provide AGN bolometric luminosities and corrections. We also present the interesting case of a z approximate to 2 quasar for which the inclusion of sub-mm (SCUBA) data allows us to reveal and parameterize coeval nuclear activity and star formation.

We study the relation of AGN accretion, star formation rate (SFR), and stellar mass (M$_*$) using a sample of $\approx$ 8600 star-forming galaxies up to z=2.5 selected with \textit{Herschel} imaging in the GOODS and COSMOS fields. For each of them we derive SFR and M$_*$, both corrected, when necessary, for emission from an active galactic nucleus (AGN), through the decomposition of their spectral energy distributions (SEDs). About 10 per cent of the sample are detected individually in \textit{Chandra} observations of the fields. For the rest of the sample we stack the X-ray maps to get average X-ray properties. After subtracting the X-ray luminosity expected from star formation and correcting for nuclear obscuration, we derive the average AGN accretion rate for both detected sources and stacks, as a function of M$_{*}$, SFR and redshift. The average accretion rate correlates with SFR and with M$_*$. The dependence on SFR becomes progressively more significant at z$>$0.8. This may suggest that SFR is the original driver of these correlations. We find that average AGN accretion and star formation increase in a similar fashion with offset from the star-forming "main-sequence". Our interpretation is that accretion onto the central black hole and star formation broadly trace each other, irrespective of whether the galaxy is evolving steadily on the main-sequence or bursting., Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 18 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables

Aims. The co-evolution of galaxies and super massive black holes (SMBHs) requires that some sort of feedback mechanism is operating during the active galactic nuclei (AGN) phases. AGN driven winds are the most likely candidates for such feedback mechanism, but direct observational evidence of their existence and of their effects on the host galaxies are still scarce and their physical origin is still hotly debated. Methods. X-shooter observations of a sample of X-ray selected, obscured quasars at z$\sim$1.5, selected on the basis of their observed red colors and X-ray-to-optical flux ratio, have shown the presence of outflowing ionized gas identified by broad [OIII] emission lines in 6 out of 8 objects, confirming the efficiency of the selection criteria. Here we present slit-resolved spectroscopy for the two brightest sources, XID2028 and XID5321, to study the complex emission and absorption line kinematics. Results. We detect outflow extended out to $\sim$ 10 kpc from the central black hole (BH), both as blueshifted and redshifted emission. Interestingly, we also detect kpc scale outflows in the [OII] emission lines and in the neutral gas component, traced by the sodium D and magnesium absorption lines, confirming that a substantial amount of the outflowing mass is in the form of neutral gas. Conclusions. The measured gas velocities and the outflow kinetic powers, inferred under reasonable assumptions on the geometry and physical properties of these two systems, favor an AGN origin for the observed winds., 17 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

Bolometric luminosities and Eddington ratios of both X-ray selected broad-line (Type-1) and narrow-line (Type-2) AGN from the XMM-Newton survey in the COSMOS field are presented. The sample is composed by 929 AGN (382 Type-1 AGN and 547 Type-2 AGN) and it covers a wide range of redshifts, X-ray luminosities and absorbing column densities. About 65% of the sources are spectroscopically identified as either Type-1 or Type-2 AGN (83% and 52% respectively), while accurate photometric redshifts are available for the rest of the sample. The study of such a large sample of X-ray selected AGN with a high quality multi-wavelength coverage from the far-infrared (now with the inclusion of Herschel data at 100 micron and 160 micron) to the optical-UV allows us to obtain accurate estimates of bolometric luminosities, bolometric corrections and Eddington ratios. The kbol-Lbol relations derived in the present work are calibrated for the first time against a sizable AGN sample, and rely on observed redshifts, X-ray luminosities and column density distributions. We find that kbol is significantly lower at high Lbol with respect to previous estimates by Marconi et al. (2004) and Hopkins et al. (2007). Black hole masses and Eddington ratios are available for 170 Type-1 AGN, while black hole masses for Type-2 AGN are computed for 481 objects using the black hole mass-stellar mass relation and the morphological information. We confirm a trend between kbol and lambda_Edd, with lower hard X-ray bolometric corrections at lower Eddington ratios for both Type-1 and Type-2 AGN. We find that, on average, Eddington ratio increases with redshift for all Types of AGN at any given Mbh, while no clear evolution with redshift is seen at any given Lbol., Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, accepted to MNRAS

We discuss some of the main open issues in the evolution of Active Galactic Nuclei which can be solved by the sensitive, wide area surveys to be performed by the proposed Wide Field X-ray Telescope mission., Comment: Proceedings of "The Wide Field X-ray Telescope Workshop", held in Bologna, Italy, Nov. 25-26 2009. To appear in Memorie della Societa' Astronomica Italiana 2010 (arXiv:1010.5889)

(Abriged) We report on the measurement of the rest frame K-band luminosity and total stellar mass of the hosts of 89 broad line Active Galactic Nuclei detected in the zCOSMOS survey in the redshift range 1, Comment: 47 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ

Understanding the relationship between the formation and evolution of galaxies and their central super massive black holes (SMBH) is one of the main topics in extragalactic astrophysics. Links and feedback may reciprocally affect both black hole and galaxy growth. Observations of the CO line at redshifts of 2-4 are crucial to investigate the gas mass, star formation activity and accretion onto SMBHs, as well as the effect of AGN feedback. Potential correlations between AGN and host galaxy properties can be highlighted by observing extreme objects. Despite their luminosity, hyper-luminous QSOs at z=2-4 are still little studied at mm wavelengths. We targeted CO(3-2) in ULAS J1539+0557, an hyper-luminos QSO (Lbol> 10^48 erg/s) at z=2.658, selected through its unusual red colors in the UKIDSS Large Area Survey (ULAS). We find a molecular gas mass of 4.1+-0.8 10^10 Msun, and a gas fraction of 0.4-0.1, depending mostly on the assumed source inclination. We also find a robust lower limit to the star-formation rate (SFR=250-1600 Msun/yr) and star-formation efficiency (SFE=25-350 Lsun/(K km s-1 pc2) by comparing the observed optical-near-infrared spectral energy distribution with AGN and galaxy templates. The black hole gas consumption timescale, M(H_2)/dM(accretion)/dt, is ~160 Myr, similar or higher than the gas consumption timescale. The gas content and the star formation efficiency are similar to those of other high-luminosity, highly obscured QSOs, and at the lower end of the star-formation efficiency of unobscured QSOs, in line with predictions from AGN-galaxy co-evolutionary scenarios. Further measurements of the (sub)-mm continuum in this and similar sources are mandatory to obtain a robust observational picture of the AGN evolutionary sequence., Submitted to A&A

International audience; The relationship between galaxies of intermediate stellar mass and moderate luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 1 \textless z \textless 3 is investigated with a Galaxy Mass Assembly ultra-deep Spectroscopic Survey (GMASS) sample complemented with public data in the GOODS-South field. Using X-ray data, hidden AGNs are identified in unsuspected star-forming galaxies with no apparent signs of non-stellar activity. In the color-mass plane, two parallel trends emerge during the similar to 2 Gyr between the average redshifts z similar to 2.2 and z similar to 1.3: while the red sequence becomes significantly more populated by ellipticals, the majority of AGNs with L(2-10 keV) \textgreater 10(42.3) erg s(-1) disappear from the blue cloud/ green valley where they were hosted predominantly by star-forming systems with disk and irregular morphologies. These results are even clearer when the rest-frame colors are corrected for dust reddening. At z similar to 2.2, the ultraviolet spectra of active galaxies (including two Type 1 AGNs) show possible gas outflows with velocities up to about-500kms(-1), which are observed neither in inactive systems at the same redshift, nor at lower redshifts. Such outflows indicate the presence of gas that can move faster than the escape velocities of active galaxies. These results suggest that feedback from moderately luminous AGNs (logL(X) \textless 44.5 erg s(-1)) played a key role at z similar to 2 by contributing to outflows capable of ejecting part of the interstellar medium and leading to a rapid decrease in star formation in host galaxies with stellar masses 10 \textless log(M/M-circle dot) \textless 11.

The relationships between galaxies of intermediate stellar mass and moderate luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 110^42.3 erg s^-1 disappear from the blue cloud/green valley where they were hosted predominantly by star-forming systems with disk and irregular morphologies. These results are even clearer when the rest-frame colors are corrected for dust reddening. At z~2.2, the ultraviolet spectra of active galaxies (including two Type 1 AGNs) show possible gas outflows with velocities up to about -500 km s^-1 that are not observed neither in inactive systems at the same redshift, nor at lower redshifts. Such outflows indicate the presence of gas that can move faster than the escape velocities of active galaxies. These results suggest that feedback from moderately luminous AGNs (logL_X~2 by contributing to outflows capable of ejecting part of the interstellar medium and leading to a rapid decrease in the star formation in host galaxies with stellar masses 10, Comment: Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press (6 pages, 4 figures)

We present results from the photometric and spectroscopic identification of 122 X-ray sources recently discovered by XMM-Newton in the 2-10 keV band (the HELLAS2XMM 1 dF sample). One of the most interesting results (which is found also in deeper surveys) is that similar to 20% of the sources have an X-ray to optical flux ratio (X/O) ten times or more higher than that of optically selected AGN. Unlike the faint sources found in the ultra-deep Chandra and XMM-Newton surveys, which reach X-ray (and optical) fluxes 10 times lower than in the HELLAS2XMM sample, many of the extreme X/O sources in our sample have R less than or similar to 25 and are therefore accessible to optical spectroscopy. We report the identification of 13 sources with extreme X/O values. While four of these sources are broad line QSO, eight of them are narrow line QSO, seemingly the extension to very high luminosity of the type 2 Seyfert galaxies.

The Chandra Deep Field is the region of the sky with the highest concentration of X-ray data available: 4Ms of Chandra and 3Ms of XMM data, allowing excellent quality spectra to be extracted even for faint sources. We take advantage of this in order to compile a sample of heavily obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using X-ray spectroscopy. We select our sample among the 176 brightest XMM sources, searching for either a) flat X-ray spectra (Photon index, To appear in A&A. 14 pages