The Obscured Fraction of Quasars at Cosmic Noon

TL;DR

This study estimates that approximately 76% of luminous quasars at redshift above 2 are obscured, highlighting an increased obscured fraction during the peak epoch of supermassive black hole growth, based on deep X-ray and optical/IR data.

Contribution

It provides the first robust estimate of the obscured fraction of high-redshift luminous quasars using a large, matched X-ray and optical/IR dataset, revealing a higher obscured fraction than in the local universe.

Findings

76% of luminous quasars at z>2 are obscured

Obscured fraction increases with redshift compared to local universe

Both obscured and unobscured AGN show diverse SEDs and morphologies

Abstract

Statistical studies of X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) indicate that the fraction of obscured AGN increases with increasing redshift, and the results suggest that a significant part of the accretion growth occurs behind obscuring material in the early universe. We investigate the obscured fraction of highly accreting X-ray AGN at around the peak epoch of supermassive black hole growth utilizing the wide and deep X-ray and optical/IR imaging datasets. A unique sample of luminous X-ray selected AGNs above $z>2$ was constructed by matching the XMM-SERVS X-ray point-source catalog with a PSF-convolved photometric catalog covering from $u^*$ to 4.5$\mu \mathrm{m}$ bands. Photometric redshift, hydrogen column density, and 2-10 keV AGN luminosity of the X-ray selected AGN candidates were estimated. Using the sample of 306 2-10 keV detected AGN at above redshift 2, we estimate the fraction of AGN with $\log N_{\rm H}\ (\rm cm^{-2})>22$, assuming parametric X-ray luminosity and absorption functions. The results suggest that $76_{-3}^{+4}\%$ of luminous quasars ($\log L_X\ (\rm erg\ s^{-1}) >44.5$) above redshift 2 are obscured. The fraction indicates an increased contribution of obscured accretion at high redshift than that in the local universe. We discuss the implications of the increasing obscured fraction with increasing redshift based on the AGN obscuration scenarios, which describe obscuration properties in the local universe. Both the obscured and unobscured $z>2$ AGN show a broad range of SEDs and morphology, which may reflect the broad variety of host galaxy properties and physical processes associated with the obscuration.