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Paper: Reddening and the Similarity of Shapes of the Infra-Red to X-Ray Spectral Energy Distribution of AGNs: Implications for AGN Surveys and AGN Physics
Volume: 311, AGN Physics with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
Page: 61
Authors: Gaskell, C.M.; Goosmann, R.W.; Antonucci, R.J.; Whysong, D.H.
Abstract: Comparison of the mean spectral shapes of samples of radio-loud AGNs with differing mean reddenings leads to a nuclear reddening curve for active galactic nuclei that has an unprecedented flat shape in the ultraviolet. We find that the spectral energy distribution (SED) of all AGNs is remarkably similar from the IR to the X-ray regions and that reddening seems to be the primary cause of apparent differences in the SEDs. We show that the lowest luminosity AGNs have the greatest reddening. These results have important implications for quasar demographics deduced both from the SDSS and from surveys from X-ray to radio wavelengths. The apparent similarity of underlying SEDs also implies that there are no fundamental differences in the basic energy-generation mechanism for different classes of AGN.
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