We present new observational determinations of the evolution of the 2-10keV X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of AGN. We utilise data from a number of surveys including both the 2Ms Chandra Deep Fields and the AEGIS-X 200ks survey, enabling accurate measurements of the evolution of the faint end of the XLF. We combine direct, hard X-ray selection and spectroscopic follow-up or photometric redshift estimates at z<1.2 with a rest-frame UV colour pre-selection approach at higher redshifts to avoid biases associated with catastrophic failure of the photometric redshifts. Only robust optical counterparts to X-ray sources are considered using a likelihood ratio matching technique. A Bayesian methodology is developed that considers redshift probability distributions, incorporates selection functions for our high redshift samples, and allows robust comparison of different evolutionary models. We find that the XLF retains the same shape at all redshifts, but undergoes strong luminosity evolution out to z~1, and an overall negative density evolution with increasing redshift, which thus dominates the evolution at earlier times. We do not find evidence that a Luminosity-Dependent Density Evolution, and the associated flattening of the faint-end slope, is required to describe the evolution of the XLF. We find significantly higher space densities of low-luminosity, high-redshift AGN than in prior studies, and a smaller shift in the peak of the number density to lower redshifts with decreasing luminosity. The total luminosity density of AGN peaks at z=1.2+/-0.1, but there is a mild decline to higher redshifts. We find >50% of black hole growth takes place at z>1, with around half in Lx<10^44 erg/s AGN.Comment: 24 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Using HST /WFC3 imaging taken as part of the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS), we examine the role that major galaxy mergers play in triggering active galactic nuclei (AGN) activity at z ∼ 2. Our sample consists of 72 moderate-luminosity (L X ∼ 10 42−44 erg s −1 ) AGN at 1.5 < z < 2.5 that are selected using the 4 Msec Chandra observations in the Chandra Deep Field South, the deepest X-ray observations to date. Employing visual classifications, we have analyzed the rest-frame optical morphologies of the AGN host galaxies and compared them to a massmatched control sample of 216 non-active galaxies at the same redshift. We find that most of the AGN reside in disk galaxies (51.4 +5.8 −5.9 %), while a smaller percentage are found in spheroids (27.8 +5.8 −4.6 %). Roughly 16.7 +5.3 −3.5 % of the AGN hosts have highly disturbed morphologies and appear to be involved in a major merger or interaction, while most of the hosts (55.6 +5.6 −5.9 %) appear relatively relaxed and undisturbed. These fractions are statistically consistent with the fraction of control galaxies that show similar morphological disturbances. These results suggest that the hosts of moderate-luminosity AGN are no more likely to be involved in an ongoing merger or interaction relative to non-active galaxies of similar mass at z ∼ 2. The high disk fraction observed among the AGN hosts also appears to be at odds with predictions that merger-driven accretion should be the dominant AGN fueling mode at z ∼ 2, even at moderate X-ray luminosities. Although we cannot rule out that minor mergers are responsible for triggering these systems, the presence of a large population of relatively undisturbed disk-like hosts suggests that secular processes play a greater role in fueling AGN activity at z ∼ 2 than previously thought.

We discuss the relationship between rest-frame color and optical luminosity for X-ray sources in the range 0.6 < z < 1.4 selected from the Chandra survey of the Extended Groth Strip (EGS). These objects are almost exclusively active galactic nuclei (AGN). While there are a few luminous QSOs, most are relatively weak or obscured AGN whose optical colors should be dominated by host galaxy light. The vast majority of AGN hosts at z ∼ 1 are luminous and red, with very few objects fainter than M B = −20.5 or bluer than U − B = 0.6. This places the AGN in a distinct region of color-magnitude space, on the "red sequence" or at the top of the "blue cloud", with many in between these two modes in galaxy color. A key stage in the evolution of massive galaxies is when star formation is quenched, resulting in a migration from the blue cloud to the red sequence. Our results are consistent with scenarios in which AGN either cause or maintain this quenching. The large numbers of red sequence AGN imply that strong, ongoing star formation is not a necessary ingredient for AGN activity, as black hole accretion appears often to persist after star formation has been terminated.

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