Type II Quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. IV.ChandraandXMM‐NewtonObservations Reveal Heavily Absorbed Sources

We are carrying out sensitive X-ray observations with Chandra and XMM of typeII quasars selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey based on their opticalemission line properties. We present observations of four objects at redshifts0.4 < z < 0.8 and an analysis of the archival data for four additional objectsin the same redshift range. Six of the eight were detected in X-rays; five ofthem have sufficient signal to derive spectral information. All of the detectedsources have intrinsic luminosities L(2-10 keV) > 5 x 10^43 erg s^-1. The fivewith sufficient counts for spectral fitting show evidence for significantabsorption (N_H >~ a few x 10^22 cm^-2). At least three of the objects likelyhave N_H > 10^23 cm^-2; some may be Compton-thick (N_H > 10^{24} cm^-2). In thefive objects for which we could fit spectra, the slopes tend to besignificantly flatter than is typically observed in AGN; it is possible thatthis is due either to reprocessing of the nuclear emission or to a line ofsight that passes through patchy absorption.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 12 pages with 9 figure