Are QSO2 hiding among EROs?

Abstract

We present the results of a deep (80 ks) XMM-Newton survey of one of the largest sample of near-infrared selected Extremely Red Objects (R-K>5) available to date (~300 objects, Daddi et al. 2000). The fraction of individually detected, X-ray emitting EROs is of the order of ~3.5%, down to F_x > 4x10^-15 cgs and Ks<19.2. In order to derive the X-ray intrinsic properties of AGN EROs and to place our findings in a broader context, we have also considered all the X-ray detected EROs available in the literature. The X-ray, optical, and near-infrared properties of those X-ray selected EROs with a spectroscopic or photometric redshift nicely match those expected for quasars 2, the high-luminosity, high-redshift obscured AGNs predicted in XRB synthesis models.