Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences (May 2024)
The High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): the circum-nuclear environment of growing supermassive black holes
- P. G. Boorman,
- N. Torres-Albà,
- A. Annuar,
- S. Marchesi,
- S. Marchesi,
- S. Marchesi,
- R. W. Pfeifle,
- R. W. Pfeifle,
- D. Stern,
- F. Civano,
- M. Baloković,
- M. Baloković,
- J. Buchner,
- C. Ricci,
- C. Ricci,
- D. M. Alexander,
- W. N. Brandt,
- W. N. Brandt,
- W. N. Brandt,
- M. Brightman,
- C. T. Chen,
- C. T. Chen,
- S. Creech,
- S. Creech,
- P. Gandhi,
- J. A. García,
- J. A. García,
- F. Harrison,
- R. Hickox,
- E. Kammoun,
- E. Kammoun,
- S. LaMassa,
- G. Lanzuisi,
- L. Marcotulli,
- L. Marcotulli,
- K. Madsen,
- G. Matt,
- G. Matzeu,
- E. Nardini,
- J. M. Piotrowska,
- A. Pizzetti,
- S. Puccetti,
- D. Sicilian,
- R. Silver,
- D. J. Walton,
- D. R. Wilkins,
- X. Zhao,
- The HEX-P Collaboration
Affiliations
- P. G. Boorman
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- N. Torres-Albà
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC, United States
- A. Annuar
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia
- S. Marchesi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC, United States
- S. Marchesi
- Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia (DIFA), Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- S. Marchesi
- INAF—Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- R. W. Pfeifle
- X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- R. W. Pfeifle
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities, NASA NPP Program, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
- D. Stern
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- F. Civano
- X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- M. Baloković
- Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, New Haven, CT, United States
- M. Baloković
- 0Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- J. Buchner
- 1Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching, Germany
- C. Ricci
- 2Instituto de Estudios Astrofísicos, Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago, Chile
- C. Ricci
- 3Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing, China
- D. M. Alexander
- 4Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Department of Physics, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
- W. N. Brandt
- 5Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- W. N. Brandt
- 6Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- W. N. Brandt
- 7Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
- M. Brightman
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- C. T. Chen
- 8Science and Technology Institute, Universities Space Research Association, Huntsville, AL, United States
- C. T. Chen
- 9Astrophysics Office, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, United States
- S. Creech
- 0Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- S. Creech
- 1Astrophysics Science Division, SURA/GSFC/CRESST II, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- P. Gandhi
- 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- J. A. García
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- J. A. García
- X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- F. Harrison
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- R. Hickox
- 3Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, United States
- E. Kammoun
- 4Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Universitá degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
- E. Kammoun
- 5INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy
- S. LaMassa
- 6Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, United States
- G. Lanzuisi
- INAF—Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- L. Marcotulli
- Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, New Haven, CT, United States
- L. Marcotulli
- 0Department of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- K. Madsen
- X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- G. Matt
- 4Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Universitá degli Studi Roma Tre, Roma, Italy
- G. Matzeu
- 7European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC), Madrid, Spain
- E. Nardini
- 5INAF—Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Firenze, Italy
- J. M. Piotrowska
- Cahill Center for Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
- A. Pizzetti
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Kinard Lab of Physics, Clemson, SC, United States
- S. Puccetti
- 8ASI—Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Via del Politecnico snc, Roma, Italy
- D. Sicilian
- 9Department of Physics, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United States
- R. Silver
- X-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States
- D. J. Walton
- 0Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, United Kingdom
- D. R. Wilkins
- 1Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
- X. Zhao
- 2Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA, United States
- The HEX-P Collaboration
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fspas.2024.1335459
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 11
Abstract
Ever since the discovery of the first active galactic nuclei (AGN), substantial observational and theoretical effort has been invested into understanding how massive black holes have evolved across cosmic time. Circum-nuclear obscuration is now established as a crucial component, with almost every AGN observed known to display signatures of some level of obscuration in their X-ray spectra. However, despite more than six decades of effort, substantial open questions remain: how does the accretion power impact the structure of the circum-nuclear obscurer? What are the dynamical properties of the obscurer? Can dense circum-nuclear obscuration exist around intrinsically weak AGN? How many intermediate mass black holes occupy the centers of dwarf galaxies? In this paper, we showcase a number of next-generation prospects attainable with the High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P1) to contribute toward solving these questions in the 2030s. The uniquely broad (0.2–80 keV) and strictly simultaneous X-ray passband of HEX-P makes it ideally suited for studying the temporal co-evolution between the central engine and circum-nuclear obscurer. Improved sensitivities and reduced background will enable the development of spectroscopic models complemented by current and future multi-wavelength observations. We show that the angular resolution of HEX-P both below and above 10 keV will enable the discovery and confirmation of accreting massive black holes at both low accretion power and low black hole masses even when concealed by thick obscuration. In combination with other next-generation observations of the dusty hearts of nearby galaxies, HEX-P will be pivotal in paving the way toward a complete picture of black hole growth and galaxy co-evolution.
Keywords
