Obscured AGN at 1.5 < z < 3.0 from the zCOSMOS-deep Survey

Context. The physics and demographics of high-redshift obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN) is still scarcely investigated. New samples of such objects, selected with different techniques, can provide useful insights into their physical properties.Aims. With the goal to determine the properties of the gas in the emitting region of type 2 AGN, in particular, the gas metal content, we exploit predictions from photoionization models, including new parameterizations for the distance of gas distribution from the central source and internal microturbulence in the emitting clouds, to interpret rest-frame UV spectral data.Methods. We selected a sample of 90 obscured (type 2) AGN with 1.45