A Survey of the Broadband 0.1 to 3.5 keV Spectra of X-ray-Selected AGN

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Session 64 -- AGN Surveys and High Energy Spectra
Oral presentation, Thursday, January 13, 2:15-3:45, Salon IV Room (Crystal Gateway)

[64.06] A Survey of the Broadband 0.1 to 3.5 keV Spectra of X-ray-Selected AGN

Richard J. Thompson, Jr. (Penn State University)

We survey the broadband spectral properties of $\sim$500 X-ray selected Active Galactic Nuclei observed with the Einstein X-ray Observatory. Included in this survey are the $\sim$450 AGN in the Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey of Gioia et al. (1990) and the $\sim$50 AGN in the Ultrasoft Survey of Cordova et al. (1992). We find that the mean spectral index of the AGN between 0.1 and 0.6 keV is softer, and the distribution of indices wider, than previous estimates based on analyses of the X-ray spectra of optically-selected AGN. A correlation between radio and hard X-ray luminosity is confirmed, but the data do not support a correlation between the radio and soft X-ray luminosities or between radio loudness and soft X-ray spectral slope. Evidence for physically distinct soft and hard X-ray components is found, along with the possibility of a bias in previous optically-selected samples toward selection of AGN with harder X-ray spectra. The results of model fitting to the multiwavelength (radio to X-ray) energy distributions of a subset of ultrasoft AGN are presented.

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