@article{10902/38358,
year = {2025},
month = {7},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10902/38358},
abstract = {Understanding the AGN-galaxy co-evolution, feedback processes, and the evolution of Black Hole Accretion rate Density (BHAD) requires accurately estimating the contribution of obscured Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). However, detecting these sources is challenging due to significant extinction at the wavelengths typically used to trace their emission. We evaluate the capabilities of the proposed far-infrared observatory PRIMA and its synergies with the X-ray observatory NewAthena in detecting AGN and in measuring the BHAD. Starting from X-ray background synthesis models, we simulate the performance of NewAthena and of PRIMA in Deep and Wide surveys. Our results show that the combination of these facilities is a powerful tool for selecting and characterizing all types of AGN. Although NewAthena is particularly effective at detecting the most luminous, the unobscured, and the moderately obscured AGN, PRIMA excels at identifying heavily obscured sources, including Compton-thick AGN (of which we expect 7500 detections per deg2). We find that PRIMA will detect ⁓60 times more sources than Herschel over the same area and will allow us to accurately measure the BHAD evolution up to z ⁓ 8, better than any current IR or X-ray survey, finally revealing the true contribution of Compton-thick AGN to the BHAD evolution.},
organization = {LB, LM, and MV acknowledge financial support from the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA), a partnership of the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria and the University of the Western Cape, and from the South African Department of Science and Innovation’s National Research Foundation under the ISARP RADIOMAP Joint Research Scheme (DSI-NRF Grant No. 150551) and the Competitive Programme for Rated Researchers (CPRR) HELP-IDIA Panchromatic PrOject (HIPPO) Project (DSI-NRF Grant No. SRUG22031677). FJC acknowledges funding from grant PID2021-122955OB-C41 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF A way of making Europe. Part of the research activities described in this paper was carried out with the contribution of the NextGenerationEU funds within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Mission 4 - Education and Research, Component 2 - from Research to Business (M4C2), Investment Line 3.1 - Strengthening and creation of Research Infrastructures, and Project IR0000034 - “STILES - Strengthening the Italian Leadership in ELT and SKA.” ID acknowledges funding by the European Union - NextGenerationEU, RRF M4C2 1.1, Project No. 2022JZJBHM: “AGN-sCAN: zooming-in on the AGN-galaxy connection since the cosmic noon” - CUP C53D23001120006.},
publisher = {SPIE},
publisher = {Journal of Astronomical Telescopes Instruments and Systems, 2025, 11(3), 031609},
title = {New hope for obscured AGN: the PRIMA-NewAthena alliance},
author = {Barchiesi, Luigi and Carrera Troyano, Francisco Jesús and Vignali, Cristian and Pozzi, Francesca and Marchetti, Lucia and Gruppioni, Carlotta and Delvecchio, Ivan and Bisigello, Laura and Calura, Francesco and Aird, James and Vaccari, Mattia},
}