Statistical properties of local active galactic nuclei inferred from the RXTE 3–20 keV all-sky survey

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 423, Number 2, August IV 2004


Page(s)		469 - 480
Section		Extragalactic astronomy
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20047150

A&A 423, 469-480 (2004)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20047150

Statistical properties of local active galactic nuclei inferred from the RXTE 3-20 keV all-sky survey

S. Yu. Sazonov^{1, 2} and M. G. Revnivtsev^{1, 2}

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, 85740 Garching bei München, Germany
e-mail: sazonov@mpa-garching.mpg.de
² Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya 84/32, 117997 Moscow, Russia

(Received 27 January 2004 / Accepted 16 April 2004 )

Abstract
We compiled a sample of 95 AGNs serendipitously detected in the 3-20 keV band at Galactic latitude $\vert b\vert>10^\circ$ during the RXTE slew survey (XSS, Revnivtsev et al. 2004), and utilize it to study the statistical properties of the local population of AGNs, including the X-ray luminosity function and absorption distribution. We find that among low X-ray luminosity ( L_3-20< 10^43.5 erg s ^-1) AGNs, the ratio of absorbed (characterized by intrinsic absorption in the range 10²² cm $^{-2}<N_{{\rm H}}<10^{24}$ cm ^-2) and unabsorbed ( $N_{{\rm H}}<10^{22}$ cm ^-2) objects is 2:1, while this ratio drops to less than 1:5 for higher luminosity AGNs. The summed X-ray output of AGNs with L_3-20>10⁴¹ erg s ^-1 estimated here is smaller than the earlier estimated total X-ray volume emissivity in the local Universe, suggesting that a comparable X-ray flux may be produced together by lower luminosity AGNs, non-active galaxies and clusters of galaxies. Finally, we present a sample of 35 AGN candidates, composed of unidentified XSS sources.

Key words: galaxies: Seyfert -- X-rays: general -- galaxies: quasars: general

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