198 8ApJ. . .326. .

680M

The Astrophysical Journal, 326:680-690,1988 March 15

© 1988. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

THE X-RAY SPECTRA OF THE EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES IN THE EINSTEIN EXTENDED

MEDIUM SENSITIVITY SURVEY
Tommaso Maccacaro,1 Isabella M. Gioia,1 and Anna Wolter
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Giovanni Zamorani
Istituto di Radioastronomía, CNR, Bologna, and Osservatorio Astronómico di Trieste
AND
John T. Stocke
Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado
Received 1987 May 4; accepted 1987 September 11
ABSTRACT
In this paper we study the X-ray energy distribution of a large sample of faint extragalactic X-ray sources.
The sample used is extracted from the Einstein Observatory Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS) and
consists of 599 sources with flux in the range 10"13 to 10"11 ergs cm"2 s"1 (0.3-3.5 keV) which are either
identified with or classified as extragalactic objects. The spectral analysis of these sources is carried out on a
statistical basis using two independent approaches. First we exploit the fact that for a given source the
decrease in the observed count rate produced by interstellar absorption is a function of the intrinsic slope of
the source spectrum. We thus analyze the distribution of detected sources as a function of the hydrogen
column density which characterizes different regions of the survey in order to place constraints on the sources’
spectral slopes. We then study the hardness ratio distribution of the sample as a whole and of various sub-
samples to extract further spectral information on extragalactic X-ray sources. We find that the distribution of
power-law slopes of the whole extragalactic sample has a mean of 0.95 ± 0.04 (energy index) with an intrinsic
dispersion of about 0.36. This is the first detailed analysis of the spectral properties of a large number of faint
(fx> 10"13 ergs cm“2 s"1) extragalactic X-ray sources. Our results indicate that these sources are character-
ized, in the 0.3-3.5 keV band, by a spectrum significantly steeper than that which characterizes the diffuse
extragalactic X-ray background radiation (in the 2-10 keV band). Preliminary results on the spectral proper-
ties of individual classes of sources indicate that X-ray selected active galactic nuclei are characterized by a
variety of spectral indices with average 1.03ío:o6 and intrinsic dispersion ~0.36 and suggest that the spectral
properties of X-ray selected normal galaxies are similar to those of clusters of galaxies. The range of galactic
hydrogen column density values which characterize the IPC images used in the EMSS is rather limited, 85%
of the sky surveyed is observed through an hydrogen column density varying from 1.2 x 1020 to
7.7 x 1020 cm"2. This makes the predicted bias in source selection, resulting from observing with a broad-
band detector through a nonuniform medium, entirely negligible. Such would not be the case for an X-ray
survey extending into the Galactic plane or performed with a detector sensitive to much “softer” X-rays.
Subject headings: galaxies: nuclei — interstellar: matter — X-rays: sources — X-rays: spectra

I. INTRODUCTION significantly contribute to the diffuse X-ray background; they

Over the last few years our knowledge of the X-ray energy
spectrum of active galactic nuclei (AGN; i.e., quasars and
Seyfert galaxies) and of BL Lac objects has significantly
improved, thanks to the spectral analysis of IPC pointed
observations of these objects (see Elvis and Lawrence 1986 and
references therein) and to many observations performed with
the European X-ray Observatory Satellite (EX OSAT). The
picture that is emerging from the analysis of these data is that
AGN are characterized by a variety of slopes, at least over the
energy range 0.2-3.5 keV, and that there is a possible correla-
tion between the power-law slope and the level of radio emis-
sion (Wilkes and Elvis 1987). Although there is still
controversy over the origin of the diffused X-ray background
radiation (XRB), there is general agreement that, at —3 keV,
discrete sources can account for at least 50% of it and that
AGN are the dominant contributors. However, the bright
sources for which spectral measurements are available do not
1
On leave of absence from CNR, Istituto di Radioastronomía, Bologna, Italy.
680
hardly account for more than a few percent of it ! It is therefore
important to extend to fainter fluxes and higher redshifts the
study of the energy distribution of discrete X-ray sources in
general and active galactic nuclei in particular. This can con-
tribute both to a better estimate of the composition of XRB
(see, for example, Giacconi and Zamorani 1987) and to a
further investigation of possible correlations between the
sources’ spectra and other relevant parameters (e.g., redshift,
luminosity).
To these ends we have undertaken to extract spectral infor-
mation from the extragalactic X-ray sources in the Extended
Einstein Medium Sensitivity Survey (EMSS; Gioia, Macca-
caro, and Wolter 1987). We have done so first using a method
(Zamorani et al. 1987) which exploits the fact that, for a given
source, the decrease in the observed count rate produced by
interstellar absorption depends on the intrinsic slope of the
source spectrum. We then use the more direct and powerful
approach of analyzing the spectral information contained in
the sources’ hardness ratio and we obtain more stringent limits

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

1988ApJ. . .326 . .680M
X-RAY SPECTRA OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES
on the spectral slope of the EMSS sources. The paper is
organized as follows: in § II we describe the sample used; in
§ III the method derived by Zamorani et al (1987) is sum-
marized and further refined to take advantage of the much
larger statistics now available and is applied to the data; in
§ IV we analyze the hardness ratio distribution of the sample
as a whole and of various subsamples to study the spectral
properties of the extragalactic sources. In § V we summarize
the results of this work and present our conclusions. Through-
out the paper we use the energy index a to refer to the slope of
a power-law spectrum.
II. THE EXTENDED MEDIUM SENSITIVITY SURVEY
The Medium Sensitivity Survey (MSS; Maccacaro et al
1982; Stocke et al 1983; Gioia et al 1984) has been extended
to include the largest possible number of suitable high galactic
latitude IPC observations. The relevant properties of the
Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey are summarized in
Gioia, Maccacaro, and Wolter (1987). A detailed description of
the EMSS, of the image and source selection criteria, and of its
basic parameters will be published elsewhere (including the
source list and optical identifications). Here we recall that the
EMSS sample consists of 836 X-ray sources resulting from the
analysis of 780 square degrees of sky (1435 IPC images were
used) and detected at or above a signal-to-noise ratio of 4. The
source fluxes range from 7 x 10-14 to 1 x 10-11 ergs cm-2
s_1 in the 0.3-3.5 keV band. The EMSS sample is about 8
times larger than the MSS sample. It also benefits from a more
reliable background subtraction technique and from an
improved detector calibration which yield a more accurate
determination of the source basic parameters (e.g., flux and
position), and of the survey sky coverage (the area of sky sur-
veyed as a function of the limiting sensitivity).
a) Identification and Classification of the EMSS Sources
At present, a number of EMSS sources are still unidentified.
Although they are the minority of the sources, yet they rep-
resent a considerable fraction (33%) of the entire sample and
therefore they should not, and cannot, be ignored in the
present analysis. Furthermore, the subsample of identified
sources is probably not representative of the full sample since
the identification process did not proceed entirely at random.
The X-ray sources associated with very bright optical objects
like SAO stars, NGC galaxies, or Abell clusters of galaxies are
in fact easier to identify. We have inspected the POSS prints
and ESO plates for each and every source in the sample : there
are no more cataloged or bright objects hidden among the
unidentified sources. When these remaining sources are identi-
fied, they will populate, on the average, the fainter end of the
optical magnitude distribution and probably the higher end of
the redshift distribution of the class of objects to which they
belong. We have classified the unidentified sources as “ class 1”
or “class 2” (see Maccacaro et al 1982) depending on their
likelihood of being associated with an extragalactic or a Galac-
tic object, respectively.
This classification has been made using the Palomar Sky
Survey prints (or ESO plates when appropriate) and the
diagram shown in Figure 1 as a guide. This diagram has two
parts. The first one involves the three numerical axes (X-ray
flux, log Ifx/fv'], and visual magnitude). It is a nomograph (a
description of how nomographs are constructed is given in the
Appendix) which may be used to compute the logarithm of the
© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System
681
X-ray to visual flux ratio,2 given the X-ray flux of a source and
the visual magnitude of its possible optical counterpart. To use
it one has first to draw an isopleth connecting the value of the
X-ray flux of a given source with the value of the visual magni-
tude of its optical counterpart. The value of log [/x//i;] for the
source of interest is then given by the intersection of this line
with the log [/x//i;] axis. The second, and most important, part
of this figure shows the correspondence, that we have indicated
above and below the log [fx/fv'] axis, between various classes
of astronomical sources and their typical log [fx/fv] value,
derived from the already identified EMSS sources (see below).
For each class of sources considered (stars: B-F, G, K, M;
normal galaxies; active galactic nuclei; BL Lac objects) we
have indicated with a continuous line the range of log ^fx/fv]
including 70% of the objects, and with dashed lines the range
of log Ifx/fv'] including the highest and lowest 15% of the
cases. We note that in Figure 1 we have not shown ranges for
RS CVn stars, cataclysmic variables, and other types of
“ active ” binary stars. These objects, which account for a very
small fraction of the high galactic latitude EMSS sources, are
characterized by smfx/fv ratio somewhat higher than that of
normal stars (see, for example, Silva et al 1987; Morris et al
1987).
We have previously noted from the analysis of the MSS
sample (e.g., Stocke et al 1983; Gioia et al 1984) that the
X-ray to visual flux ratio is a powerful tool in the optical
identification process of X-ray sources. We have now at our
disposal in excess of 500 spectroscopically identified X-ray
sources3 (about 5 times the number of sources available to
Gioia et al 1984) to further study the log [/x//i;] distribution
of the various classes of X-ray sources. We have used this
information to estimate the appropriate range of log Ifx/fv'] of
the various classes of X-ray emitters and we have included this
information in Figure 1. In classifying the unidentified sources
we have also taken into account further information available
to us, such as the presence of a radio source in the X-ray error
circle or the presence of extended X-ray emission. In addition,
the brightest unresolved extragalactic sources are predomi-
nantly blue in color (i.e., AGN), while the faintest stellar
sources are quite red (K and M stars). When two color plates
are available, the use of this information increases the reliabil-
ity of the galactic versus extragalactic classification. Of the 280
unidentified sources, 243 have been classified as “class 1”
(extragalactic), the remaining 37 have been classified as “class
2” (galactic). We note that if we combine the sources spectro-
scopically identified as galactic objects with those that have
been classified as “class 2” we have a total of 237 galactic
objects. This corresponds to 28% of the entire sample, in excel-
lent agreement with the percentage of stars (25%) present in
the fully identified MSS sample (Gioia et al 1984). The classi-
fication of the unidentified sources has been carried out inde-
pendently by three of us. The three independent classifications
were in full agreement in 85% of the cases. This, and the
resulting percentage of galactic objects, give us confidence that
the large majority of sources has been correctly classified.
Naturally we expect that a small number of sources presently
classified as “class 2” will be at a later time identified with
2
Log [/x//b] = log Ifx]-2+ mv1/2.5 + 5.37, where fx is the X-ray flux in the
0.3-3.5
3
keV band in ergs cm s" and mv is the visual magnitude.
These observations were made primarily with the Multiple Mirror Tele-
scope Observatory, which is jointly operated by the Smithsonian Institution
and the University of Arizona.
198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M

682 MACCACARO ET AL. Vol. 326

X-RAY FLUX ( ergs cm“2 s“1 ; 0.3 - 3.5 keV )

-14 -13 -12 -Il -io
10 10 10 10
r -i 1—i—i i i i i i— i i i i r i i iJ 1 1 1—Mil n—i—i un

GALACTIC SOURCES

log (fx/fv)

i i i i i i -i i i ■ i ■ i . i i i i i -i i i i
10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
VISUAL MAGNITUDE (mv)

log (fx/fv)= log fxt^- +5.37

2.5
Fig. 1.—Nomograph to compute the log [fx/fv'], given the X-ray flux and the visual magnitude of a source. The correspondence between the various classes of
X-ray sources and their typical log [fx/fv] is also indicated (see text for details).

extragalactic objects and vice versa. However, the fraction of
incorrect classifications is probably less than 10% of the
unidentified sources, corresponding to less than 4% of the total
sample. For this reason we do not expect any significant differ-
ence between the results derived here and those that will be
obtained upon completion of the optical identification
program.
b) Determination of the Hydrogen Column Density
We have used the H i survey of Stark et al. (1987) to deter-
mine the hydrogen column density along the line of sight to the
IPC images used in the EMSS, following the same procedure
outlined in Maccacaro and Gioia (1986). No determination of
the hydrogen column density is available for 77 IPC images
since they are centered at a declination south of —42°, outside
the region of sky surveyed by Stark et al. (1987). For these
images (accounting for only 5% of the total data used) we have
estimated the value of NH using a correlation between NH and
galactic latitude that we have determined using the Stark et al.
data. Since the maximum distance (~30') of the various
sources from the center of the IPC image is smaller than the
beam used in the Stark et al. survey, sources have been assign-
ed the value of NH computed for the center of the IPÇ image in
which they were detected. The effect of small variations (on a
scale of a few arcmin) of the hydrogen column density is in part
neutralized by the statistical nature of our analysis and in part
by the binning of the NH data (bin width = 20% ; see next
section).
III. CONSTRAINTS ON THE POWER-LAW SLOPE OF
EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES
Maccacaro and Gioia (1986) have studied the distribution of
the MSS sources, as a function of the galactic hydrogen
column density. Limited by the available statistics (^ 85 square
degrees, 79 extragalactic sources), they have compared two
MSS subsamples, characterized by NH lower and higher than
the median NH value measured along the line of sight of the
IPC pointings. Zamorani et al. (1987) have shown that for a
given spectral index4 distribution the number of X-ray sources
detected above a given threshold by a broad-band detector is a
function of the hydrogen column density Nu and of the slope of
the log N-log S. They have also shown how this could be used
to extract information on the average source spectrum. We can
now place limits on the average slope of the extragalactic
sources spectra, by applying this method to the EMSS sample.
First we have determined the distribution of the extra-
galactic EMSS sources as a function of galactic NH. Taking
advantage of the much larger statistics of the EMSS, we have
defined bins of equal (logarithmic) width in NH and we have
divided the survey in a number of independent subsamples
according to the NH value of the individual IPC observations.
We have chosen a bin width of 0.08 which is a good match to
the accuracy with which the iVH values are known. The values
4
We assume here that all extragalactic sources in the EMSS can be
described by a power-law spectrum over the IPC energy range. This assump-
tion is adequate since the Einstein IPC has a fairly limited energy range and
very moderate energy resolution.

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M

No. 2, 1988 X-RAY SPECTRA OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES 683

TABLE 1 source distribution as a function of NH for a wide range of
Distribution of Extragalactic EMSS Sources values of a. By comparing these distributions with the observed
as a Function of Nh distribution we can place constraints on the allowed range of
spectral slopes of the extragalactic X-ray sources. Using the
Nh Sources % (Cuml.) two-tailed Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test we obtain a consis-
6.00E+19 7.20E +19. 0 0.000 tency between the observed and expected distribution for spec-
7.20E+19 8.64E+19. 4 0.007 tral slopes in the range 0.32-1.37 (90% confidence), with a
8.64E+19 1.04E + 20. 13 0.028 best-fit value of 0.95.
1.04E + 20 1.24E + 20. 34 0.085
1.24E + 20 1.49E + 20. 27 0.130 We have then made the more general assumption that extra-
1.49E + 20 1.79E + 20. 43 0.202 galactic sources show a Gaussian distribution of spectral
1.79E + 20 2.15E + 20. 75 0.327 indices with mean <ap> and dispersion ap. As discussed in the
2.15E + 20 2.58E + 20. 47 0.406 next section, we have determined that a Gaussian distribution
2.58E + 20 3.10E + 20. 64 0.513
3.10E + 20 3.71E + 20. 67 0.624 of spectral indices with ap = 0.36 is suggested by the observed
3.71E + 20 4.46E + 20. 71 0.743 hardness ratio distribution. To give an idea of how the result
4.46E + 20 5.35E + 20. 55 0.835 depends on the assumed dispersion in spectral indices, we have
5.35E + 20 6.42E + 20. 41 0.903 considered two different values for crp: 0.36 and 0.50. Again we
6.42E + 20 7.70E + 20. 26 0.947 have derived the expected normalized cumulative distributions
7.70E + 20 9.24E + 20. 11 0.965
9.24E + 20 1.11E + 21. 10 0.982 of sources and compared them with the observed one. We find
1.11E + 21 1.33E + 21. 8 0.995 that when the assumption of a unique slope is relaxed, and a
1.33E + 21 1.60E + 21. 2 0.998 Gaussian distribution of slopes is assumed, the allowed range
1.60E + 21 1.91E + 21. 1 1.000 for the average spectral slope becomes 0.20-1.30 for ap = 0.36
and 0.12-1.23 for ap = 0.50. These results are shown in
Figure 2 and summarized in Table 2. From the analysis of the
of Nh associated with the IPC images used in the EMSS range number of sources detected in the various subsets of the survey
from 6 x 1019 to 1.8 x 1021 cm-2. There are therefore 19 sub- characterized by different NH values, we conclude that the best
samples containing data. The values of the NH bin limits are determination of the average slope a of the extragalactic source
listed in Table 1, together with the corresponding number of spectrum is 0.9 í9!? (90% confidence).
extragalactic sources and the resulting normalized cumulative IV. THE HARDNESS RATIO
distribution.
We have then computed the number of sources expected in A detailed spectral analysis of the serendipitous IPC sources
the 19 subsamples under different assumptions on their energy can be performed only in a very limited number of cases. In
slope. This is obtained by convolving the extragalactic log N- general, serendipitous sources are defined by too few counts
log S with the sky coverage of the survey (computed with the (~90% of the EMSS sources have less than 150 net counts)
same assumptions used to compute the sources’ flux). In other and are detected in regions of the detector for which insuffi-
words, for a given assumed spectral slope and observed value cient calibrations exist to allow a meaningful spectral analysis
of the hydrogen column density, the appropriate conversion (see Harnden et al 1984). For these sources, however, crude
constant to convert the recorded counts into a flux has been spectral information is available through the hardness ratio
used. The number of expected sources in each subsample j is (HR), a kind of“ X-ray color.” The hardness ratio is defined as
then computed as HR = [tf-S]/[tf + S], (3)
Nj = x ^ * srß, (i) where S is the number of counts detected between 0.2 and
i
0.8 keV and H is the number of counts detected between 0.8
where K and ß are the log N(>S)-\og S normalization and and 3.5 keV. The two quantities S and H are statistically inde-
slope respectively, and At is the area of sky in which sources pendent; their sum gives the total number of net counts
with flux St or greater could have been detected. detected for a given source. Because of its definition, the hard-
The values Nj have been normalized by requiring that ness ratio has values confined between — 1 and +1 (inclusive).
M Values close to — 1 indicate that the source has an extremely
j
1^=1, (2) soft spectrum; while very hard sources, or heavily absorbed
=i sources, are characterized by an HR value close to -hi. For
where M is the number of subsamples into which the survey power-law sources, the correspondence between the HR, the
has been divided. slope of the power law and the Galactic hydrogen column
The resulting distribution of expected sources is a function density is illustrated in Figure 3. It is evident from Figure 3
of the source spectrum and of the log iV-log S slope. This that even relatively small errors in HR may propagate to
latter dependence however is extremely weak. We have varied produce fairly large uncertainties on the slope of the power
the (integral) log iV-log S slope from 1.4 to 1.7 without seeing
any appreciable difference in the resulting distributions. For TABLE 2
this reason, and in the interest of simplicity, we have always Determination of ap for the EMSS Sources
used the value 1.5 for the slope ß of the number counts. This as a Function of gp
value is identical, within the statistical errors, to the measure-
ment of Gioia et al (1984) for the extragalactic X-ray source op <ap) [90% confidence interval]
sample. 0.00 0.95 0.32-1.37
We have first assumed that all the extragalactic sources have 0.36 0.90 0.20-1.30
the same spectral slope a, and we have computed the expected 0.50 0.80 0.12-1.23

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

 Fig 2 —Maximum difference between the (normalized cumulative) observed extragalactic source distribution and the expected distributions obtained assuming
power-law spectra of slope a, and (a) ap = 0.0; (b) ap = 0.36; and (c) ap = 0.50. The horizontal straight line represents the 90% confidence level.

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M
X-RAY SPECTRA OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES
Fig. 4.—Comparison between the spectral slope a determined from the source hardness ratio and from a detailed spectral analysis of a sample of 33 quasars. The
straight line corresponds to aHR = aSF + 0.05.
law. Used on individual sources the HR is therefore a weak
indicator of the source spectrum. Used on a large sample,
however, it can provide useful information on the spectral
properties of the sample as a whole, and on possible spectral
differences between various subsamples. The reliability of the
HR as indicator of the source spectrum depends on the accu-
racy with which the IPC “ gain ” is known at the time of the
observation and at the source position within the detector.
Most of the gain variations occurring in the IPC images have
been corrected for by the “REV 1” processing (see Harnden
et al [1984] for details). There is however a small residual
uncertainty which affects sources detected outside the central
region of the detector. To account for this uncertainty we have
introduced a systematic error (£sys) which has been combined
in quadrature with the error due to the photon-counting sta-
tistics (Epcs). From the analysis of the IPC calibration we have
estimated a residual uncertainty in the IPC gain of ±0.60
channel (68% confidence) and we have determined, simulating
gain variations of this amplitude, that Esys is of the order of
0.03. For each source we have thus determined a(ATH, HR) and
its associate 68% confidence interval [a“(iVH, HR+),
HR-)]. Uncertainties in the exact value of NH contribute, in
principle, an additional uncertainty in the resulting value of a.
In practice, the uncertainty in a due to the uncertainty in NH is
negligible when compared to the uncertainty resulting from the
errors on HR itself. To check the validity of our method we
have compared the values of a derived from the HR with those
derived from a detailed spectral analysis for the 33 quasars in
the sample of Wilkes and Elvis (1987). In order to assure con-
sistency with our results, we have taken from Wilkes and Elvis
© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System
685
the best fit slopes obtained at NH = galactic NH. The result is
illustrated in Figure 4. The slopes derived through the two
methods (hardness ratio and spectral analysis) are very well
correlated through the entire range of values, from the very flat
ones (a ~ 0.0) to the very steep ones (a ~ 2.0). The average
value of aHR-aSF is —0.05, with a dispersion (1 a) of ~ 0.08.
Since these 33 objects are characterized by a large number of
net counts (of the order of a few hundred), we can assume that
the observed zero-point shift and dispersion for this sample
can be taken as representative of the systematic uncertainty to
be assigned to our computed values of slopes.
a) Analysis of the Spectral Index Distribution Derived from the
Hardness Ratio Distribution
The distribution of spectral indices for the extragalactic
sources in the EMSS sample derived from the HR distribution
is shown in Figure 5. Thirty-seven sources are characterized by
a hardness ratio so extreme that the resulting a is well outside
the mapped range (see Fig. 3). Twenty-three have a very high
hardness ratio, fourteen a very low. These sources are not
included in the figure and in the following analysis. They will
be discussed separately later on. The width of the observed
distribution of spectral indices (c7obs « 0.9) shown in Figure 5 is
the result of the convolution of the parent distribution with the
measurement error distribution. Within the general assump-
tion that both distributions can be described by a Gaussian,5 it
5
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test indicates that the observed spectral index
distribution of extragalactic sources (and that of AGN) can indeed be satisfac-
torily represented (at the 95% confidence level) by a Gaussian distribution.
198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M
686 MACCACARO ET AL.
POWER LAW INDEX
Fig. 5.—Spectral index distribution for the extragalactic sources in the EMSS
is possible to deconvolve the two distributions so as to obtain
the best estimate of <ap> and ap (where the subscript “p” refers
to the parent distribution). Using the maximum likelihood
technique we have determined, jointly, the best estimate of the
mean <ap> and dispersion <rp of the parent population of the
extragalactic sources in our sample. We have obtained a best-
fit value of <ap> = 0.90 and (Tp = 0.36. Following Avni (1976),
the joint 68%, 90%, and 99% confidence contours on the two
interesting parameters <ap> and cfp (shown in Fig. 6) are
obtained by adding 2.3, 4.61, and 9.21 respectively to the
minimum value of
S=-2 1nJ2\ (4)
where
= n i/V27rK2+ffi2) ex
p c-(a¡ - <ap»2/2(<Tp2+a,2)]
t=i
(5)
is the likelihood function, af and c^. are the individual spectral
indices and errors of the sources in the sample respectively. If
we take into account the small offset which exists between aHR
and aSF (see previous discussion), we obtain a best-fit value of
<ap> = 0.95 (see Table 3). The value of the mean is very well
determined, with an uncertainty of ±0.04. The dispersion is
significantly different from 0. In other words, the sources
analyzed exhibit a large variety of slopes. This is expected since
the sample is fairly heterogeneous, containing all classes of
extragalactic sources. More interesting, is the fact that also the
subset of AGN (see next section) is characterized by a broad
distribution of spectral indices. We recall here that a small
number of objects with an extreme value of the hardness ratio
were ignored in the previous analysis. If anything, this could
© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System
Vol. 326
lead only to a slightly underestimate of the intrinsic dispersion
b) Analysis of the Spectral Index Distribution for Different
Subsets of the Source Sample
We have analyzed the spectral index distribution for a
number of subsets derived from the whole sample. The aim of
this analysis is twofold. First, we wished to check the reliability
of our method by showing that the spectral index distribution
does not depend on parameters like the gain of the observation
or the distance of the detected sources from the center of the
IPC field of view. Second, we are interested in determining
whether the spectral index distribution shows any dependence
on the source flux (which, on the average, is correlated with the
source redshift) and on the source nature. Furthermore, as
pointed out by Zamorani et al (1987), when a broad-band
detector is used to survey regions of sky through an absorbing
medium of nonuniform thickness, a bias should affect the
resulting sample of sources. In particular, these authors have
shown that in the case of the Einstein IPC, sources selected
from observations through regions of very high hydrogen
TABLE 3
Results from Hardness Ratio Test3
a
<v P
Total extragalactic 0-95íg;ÍS
AGN + BL Lac objects 0.36í£^
Clusters + galaxies 0.48 Í g;? J 0.38 Í g;
a
Joint 68% confidence level for two parameters (offset
included—see § IV).
198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M
No. 2, 1988 X-RAY SPECTRA OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES
Fig. 6.—Confidence contours (68%, 90%, and 99%) for the joint determination of the mean <ap> and dispersion ap of the spectral index distribution of the EMSS
extragalactic sources (see text for details).
column density (iVH >2 x 1021) should have an average spec-
tral index flatter than that of the parent population. Similarly,
sources detected in images with small values of the hydrogen
column density (NH < 1020) should have an average spectrum
steeper than that of the parent population. We are now in the
position to check whether this bias affects the Extended
Medium Sensitivity Survey sample. We have divided the full
extragalactic sample into various pairs of subsets (1) according
to the Nh value of the individual sources, (2) according to the
value of the “ gain ” of the observation in which the source was
detected, and (3) according to the distance of the source from
the center of the detector, and we have analyzed them indepen-
dently. In each case the critical value of the parameter under
consideration has been chosen so as to divide the sample into
two subsamples of similar size. Figure 7 shows the results.
There is no significant difference between the spectral proper-
ties of the sources as a function of any of the three variables
tested (iVH, gain, and distance from detector center). Although
statistically nonsignificant (the 90% contour levels largely
overlap), there is a small difference between the average spec-
tral index of the sources detected in observations characterized
by a “low” gain and those characterized by a “high” gain.
This trend is also noticeable if the difference aHR-aSF for the 33
quasars in the Wilkes and Elvis sample is plotted versus the
gain of the observation and therefore it is probably real.
However, since the difference aHR-aSF is not well correlated
with the gain and since the amplitude of the trend is small, we
have decided not to attempt to correct for this effect. We are
particularly pleased to see that the spectral properties of the
EMSS sources are not affected by the different amount of inter-
stellar absorption which characterizes the IPC images used.
We attribute this result to the fact that the range of NH values
is rather limited; 85% of the sky surveyed in the EMSS is in
fact observed through an hydrogen column density_yarying
from 1.2 x 1020 to 7.7 x 1020 cm-2. This also explains why
© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System
687
CTp
the method discussed in § III leads to a rather weak determi-
nation of the average spectral index in the case of the MSS/
EMSS. Surveys extending into the galactic plane and surveys
performed with a telescope sensitive to much “softer” X-rays
(e.g., the EX OSAT high galactic latitude survey, Giommi and
Tagliaferri, 1987; and the planned all-sky ROSAT survey,
Triimper 1984) should be much more sensitive to this effect.
At present, the EMSS sample contains too many unidenti-
fied sources to allow a detailed study of the X-ray spectrum of
the different classes of objects (e.g., AGN, BL Lacertae objects,
clusters of galaxies, etc.) found as optical counterpart of seren-
dipitous X-ray sources. We have, however, succumbed to the
temptation of estimating <ap> and <7p for these classes of
sources. These results are shown in Figure 8 (see also Table 3)
where the 90% confidence contour on <ap> and <rp are plotted
for (a) the total sample of extragalactic sources, (b) the sample
of AGN and BL Lacertae objects (<ap> = 1.03), and (c) the
sample of clusters of galaxies and normal galaxies (<ap) =
0.48).6 We find that the mean spectral index of the unidentified
sources is similar to that of the AGN plus BL Lac objects
subsample, in good agreement with the fact that most of the
unidentified sources (~75%) are expected to be eventually
identified with AGN. As expected, we find that clusters of gal-
axies are characterized by an energy distribution significantly
different from that of AGN. Individual “ normal ” galaxies are
also characterized by spectral properties significantly different
from those of active galactic nuclei and much more similar to
those of clusters of galaxies. The available statistics on
“ normal ” galaxies is however extremely scanty and this result
should be considered only as preliminary. If confirmed by a
subsequent analysis of the fully identified EMSS sample, the
6
The numerical values of ap reported here include the correction for the
offset of 0.05 discussed in § IV. This offset has not been included in Figures 6,7,
and 8.
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688 MACCACARO ET AL. Vol. 326

c) Sources with Extremely High Hardness Ratio Values

A small number of sources are characterized by extremely
high values of the hardness ratio (HR > 0.9). Furthermore, the
a distribution is slightly asymmetric, with an excess of sources
with a “ hard ” spectral index (see Fig. 5). As we have already
noted, high HR values may be the result of truly hard X-ray
spectra but they could also be the result of the presence of a
significant amount of intrinsic absorption. In this paper we
have considered only the hydrogen column density due to our
own Galaxy and we have neglected the possibility that some of
the sources are characterized by intrinsic absorption. Of the
extragalactic sources present in the EMSS, active galactic
nuclei, in particular those of low luminosity, are known to
exhibit different amount of intrinsic absorption, ranging from
values similar to those due to Galactic absorption to values of
the order of 1023 (see, among others, Reichert et al. 1985 and
Mushotzky et al. 1980). A reliable model which describes
intrinsic absorption in AGN is not yet available and in any
case it would not be applicable to the unidentified sources.
Thus, we cannot account for the effect of intrinsic absorption
which may affect a number of the low-luminosity AGN in the
sample. We note however that the consequence of ignoring
intrinsic absorption is to derive a spectral index which is some-
what flatter than it should be. It is thus possible that, in the
case of active galactic nuclei, the parent population has an even
steeper average slope than the value of ~1.0 that we have
determined. Upon completion of the optical identification
program of the EMSS sources it will be possible to analyze the
spectral distribution of AGN as a function of their luminosity
(and redshift). This will certainly help to clarify this issue.

Fig. 7.—Comparison between the spectral index distribution of two

subsets defined by (a) sources20 observed through an hydrogen column density
higher (lower) than 3.0 x 10 cm-2; (b) sources detected in images obtained
with a gain value higher (lower) than 16.2; and (c) sources detected inside
(outside) a 16' radius region centered on the IPC center. The 90% confidence
contours are shown.

similarity between the X-ray energy distribution of normal

X-ray selected galaxies and of clusters of galaxies may suggest
that X-ray emission in the former originates from a thermal
process, thus implying the presence of a large amount of hot
gas unseen at other wavelengths (cf. 1E0116.3-0116, Maccagni
et al. 1987; see also Forman, Jones and Tucker 1985; Fab-
biano 1986).
Finally we have divided both the whole sample as well as the
AGN sample into two subsamples defined by the X-ray flux.
We have used, as a critical value for the X-ray flux, 5 x 10“13
ergs cm “ 2 s “1 which divides the sources in two subsamples of Fig. 8.—90% confidence contours on <ap> and ap for {a) the total sample of
similar size. There is no evidence for any significant change in identified sources, (b) AGN and BL Lac objects, and (c) clusters of galaxies and
the mean spectral index <ap> in either sample. normal galaxies.

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

198 8ApJ. . .326. .680M

No. 2, 1988 X-RAY SPECTRA OF EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCES 689

V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
We have determined, using two independent methods, that
the average spectral index for faint extragalactic X-ray sources
is ~0.95. Taking into account the dispersion introduced by
measurement errors, we find that the spectral index distribu-
tion of extragalactic X-ray sources has an intrinsic dispersion
of ~0.36. The range of Galactic hydrogen column density
which characterizes the bulk of IPC images used in the EMSS
is rather small. This prevents the introduction of any appre-
ciable bias in the spectral composition of the source sample.
Preliminary results on the spectral properties of X-ray sel-
ected quasars and Seyfert galaxies indicate that these sources
are characterized, in the soft X-ray energy band, by a range of
power-law slopes, with a mean of 1.03ío!o6 and an intrinsic
dispersion of ~ 0.36. This is in agreement with the results of the
detailed spectral analysis of Wilkes and Elvis (1987) of a small
number of relatively bright objects. The present analysis
extends the knowledge of the AGN spectral properties to
sources which are ~3 times more distant and more than 10
times fainter than those previously studied. There is no evi-
dence in our data for any change in the mean spectral index of
either extragalactic sources as a whole, or active galactic nuclei
in particular, as a function of the X-ray flux, in the flux range
10-11tol0-13 ergs cm-2 s-1. Upon completion of the optical
identification work on the Extended Medium Sensitivity
Survey sources, a more detailed analysis of the spectral proper-
ties of AGN and other classes of objects will be possible,
including a study of the spectral properties as a function of
physical quantities such as optical, radio, and X-ray lumin-
osity, and redshift. A comparison between the spectral proper-
ties of the EMSS AGN and those of bright, local (z < 0.1)
Seyfert galaxies studied with HEAO 1 is not straightforward,
given the different energy bands of the two surveys. It is clear,
however, that if AGN are truly characterized by a “ universal ”
spectral index of slope 0.7 in the 2-10 keV range (but see
Zamorani et al. [1987] for a discussion of possible selection
effects in the spectral index distribution of sources detected in
different surveys), then they show a very different behavior in
the “ softer ” Einstein energy range. Similarly, it is not possible
to directly compare the spectrum of faint extragalactic X-ray
sources and the spectrum of the diffuse X-ray background radi-
ation. We note, however, that if the spectrum of the diffuse
extragalactic XRB at ~ 1-2 keV is not significantly different
from that observed at ~ 3-6 keV, then the discrepancy between
the XRB spectrum and the spectrum of the discrete sources
persists down to fluxes of about 10“13 ergs cm“2 s“1. The
AGN spectra remain, on average, steeper than the XRB spec-
trum. Twenty-five years after the discovery of the diffuse X-ray
background radiation (Giacconi et al. 1962), the quest for its
origin continues.
We thank Yoram Avni for many useful suggestions and
enlightening discussions on the statistical analysis of the data,
and F. R. Harnden, Jr., for assistance in the analysis of the IPC
gain variations, and in the recomputation of the HR values
after the discovery of an error in the “ processing software (Rev.
1.0)” which affects the HR estimate for weak sources. We
thank David Plummer for help in preparing part of the soft-
ware used in this work. We are grateful to the time allocation
committees of the Multiple Mirror Telescope for the contin-
uous support to the program of optical identification of the
Extended Medium Sensitivity Survey sources. This work has
received partial financial support from NASA contract NAS8-
30751 and from the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Studies
grant SS48-8-84. J. T. S. acknowledges financial support from
NASA grant NAG-8575. G. Z. acknowledges financial support
from NASA research grant NAG8-530.

APPENDIX
A nomograph is a graphical relationship between a set of variables that are related by a mathematical equation. It consists of the
representation of the equation/(x, y, z) = 0 in the three variables x, y, and z, by means of three scales constructed in such a way that
a straight line cuts the three scales in values of x, y, and z satisfying the equation. The cutting line is called an isopleth. There are
different types of nomograph charts. The form of the equation is used to classify them. An equation of the form

fl(x) +f2(y) +■■■ =fn(z) (A1)

leads to a chart of the type shown in Figure 1. This type of chart is also used to represent equations of the form

9i(x) x Qiiy) x • • • = gn(z) (A2)

since equation (A2) can be reconduced to equation (A 1) by defining

/i(x) = log [^(x)], /2(x) = log [02(x)], and /„(x) = log [gn(x)] .
In our case the equation of interest is
log (/x) + m.,/2.5 + 5.37 = R , (A3)
where/x is the X-ray flux, mv is the visual magnitude, and R is the logarithm of the X-ray to visual flux ratio.
Figure 1 is constructed by first drawing two parallel axes indicating, on a linear scale, the variables X and Y [X = log (/x) and
Y = mj. For ease of use we have actually plotted fx on a logarithmic scale, instead of log (/x) on a linear scale.
Each value Rj can be obtained by an infinite number of combinations of appropriate values of X and Y. Geometrically, each Rj is
the intersection of the lines connecting the pairs (Xh 19 satisfying equation (A3). The locus defined by the Rjj = 1, oo (the axis R) is a
straight line parallel to the X and Y axes. The scale of the axis R is linear and is determined (together with its position relative to the
X and Y axes) by the scale of the X and Y axes.

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

1988ApJ. . .326 . .680M

690 MACCACARO ET AL.

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I. M. Gioia, T. Maccacaro and A. Wolter: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge,
MA 02138

J. T. Stocke : Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309

G. Zamorani: Osservatorio Astronómico di Trieste, via G.B. Tiepolo 11 34131, Trieste, Italy

© American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System