Connecting X-ray absorption and 21cm neutral hydrogen absorption in obscured radio AGN

TL;DR

This study explores the connection between soft X-ray absorption and 21cm HI absorption in obscured radio AGN, revealing that X-ray absorption can predict the presence of dense neutral gas in these galaxies.

Contribution

It demonstrates a correlation between X-ray absorption properties and HI absorption detection, advancing understanding of the circumnuclear medium in radio AGN.

Findings

X-ray absorption predicts HI absorption presence.

Detected HI absorption in PKS 1657-298 at z=0.42.

X-ray hardness ratio correlates with HI optical depth at 4.71σ significance.

Abstract

Many radio galaxies show the presence of dense and dusty gas near the active nucleus. This can be traced by both 21cm HI absorption and soft X-ray absorption, offering new insight into the physical nature of the circumnuclear medium of these distant galaxies. To better understand this relationship, we investigate soft X-ray absorption as an indicator for the detection of associated HI absorption, as part of preparation for the First Large Absorption Survey in HI (FLASH) to be undertaken with the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). We present the results of our pilot study using the Boolardy Engineering Test Array, a precursor to ASKAP, to search for new absorption detections in radio sources brighter than 1 Jy that also feature soft X-ray absorption. Based on this pilot survey, we detected HI absorption towards the radio source PKS 1657-298 at a redshift of z = 0.42. This source also features the highest X-ray absorption ratio of our pilot sample by a factor of 3, which is consistent with our general findings that X-ray absorption predicates the presence of dense neutral gas. By comparing the X-ray properties of AGN with and without detection of HI absorption at radio wavelengths, we find that X-ray hardness ratio and HI absorption optical depth are correlated at a statistical significance of 4.71{\sigma}. We conclude by considering the impact of these findings on future radio and X-ray absorption studies.