The relationship between (OIII)5007 û equivalent width and obscuration in AGN

In this paper we study the relationship between the equivalent width (EW) of the [OIII]λ5007u narrow emission line in AGN and the level of obscuration. To this end, we combine the results of a systematic spectral analysis, both in the optical and in the X-rays, on a statistically complete sample of �170 X-ray selected AGN from the XMM-Newton Bright Serendipitous Source sample (XBS). We find that the observed large range of [OIII]λ5007u equivalent widths observed in the sample (from a few u up to 500u is well explained as a combination of an intrinsic spread, probably due to the large range of covering factors of the Narrow Line Region, and the effect of absorption. The intrinsic spread is dominant for EW below 40-50u while absorption brings the values of EW up to �100-150u for moderate levels of absorption (AV �0.5-2 mag) or up to �500u for AV >2 mag. In this picture, the absorption has a significant impact on the observed EW also in type 1 AGN. Using numerical simulations we find that this model is able to reproduce the [OIII]λ5007u EW distribution observed in the XBS sample and correctly predicts the shape of the EW distribution observed in the optically selected sample of QSO taken from the SDSS survey.