The Serendipitous Extragalactic X‐Ray Source Identification (SEXSI) Program. II. Optical Imaging

Abstract

The Serendipitous Extragalactic X-ray Source Identification (SEXSI) Program is designed to expand significantly the sample of identified extragalactic hard X-ray sources at intermediate fluxes, 10-13 ergs cm-2 s-1 S2-10 keV < 10-15 ergs cm-2 s-1. SEXSI, which includes sources derived from more than 2 deg2 of Chandra images, provides the largest hard X-ray-selected sample yet studied, offering an essential complement to the Chandra Deep Fields (total area ~0.2 deg2). In this paper we describe R-band optical imaging of the SEXSI fields from the Palomar, MDM, and Keck observatories. We have identified counterparts or derived flux limits for nearly 1000 hard X-ray sources. Using the optical images, we derive accurate source positions. We investigate correlations between optical and X-ray flux, and optical flux and X-ray hardness ratio. We also study the density of optical sources surrounding X-ray counterparts, as well as the properties of optically faint, hard X-ray sources.