Using metallicities from the literature, combined with the Revised Bologna Catalogue of photometric data for M31 clusters and cluster candidates [the latter of which is the most comprehensive catalogue of M31 clusters currently available, including 337 confirmed globular clusters (GCs) and 688 GC candidates], we determine 443 reddening values and intrinsic colours, and 209 metallicities for individual clusters without spectroscopic observations. This, the largest sample of M31 GCs presently available, is then used to analyse the metallicity distribution of M31 GCs, which is bimodal with peaks at [Fe/H] ≈ −1.7 and −0.7 dex. An exploration of metallicities as a function of radius from the M31 centre shows a metallicity gradient for the metal-poor GCs, but no such gradient for the metal-rich GCs. Our results show that the metal-rich clusters appear as a centrally concentrated spatial distribution; however, the metal-poor clusters tend to be less spatially concentrated. There is no correlation between luminosity and metallicity among the M31 sample clusters, which indicates that self-enrichment is indeed unimportant for cluster formation in M31.The reddening distribution shows that slightly more than half of the GCs are affected by a reddening of E(B − V) 0.2 mag; the mean reddening value is E(B − V) = 0.28 +0.23 −0.14 mag. The spatial distribution of the reddening values indicates that the reddening on the north-western side of the M31 disc is more significant than that on the south-eastern side, which is consistent with the conclusion that the north-western side is nearer to us.

The unified model of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) proposes that different AGN optical spectral types are caused by different viewing angles with respect to an obscuring "torus". Therefore, this model predicts that type 1 and type 2 AGNs should have similar host-galaxy properties. We investigate this prediction with 2463 X-ray selected AGNs in the COSMOS field. We divide our sample into type 1 and type 2 AGNs based on their spectra, morphologies, and variability. We derive their host-galaxy stellar masses (M ) through SED fitting, and find that the host M of type 1 AGNs tend to be slightly smaller than those of type 2 AGNs by ∆logM ≈ 0.2 dex (≈ 4σ significance). Besides deriving star-formation rates (SFRs) from SED fitting, we also utilize far-infrared (FIR) photometry and a stacking method to obtain FIR-based SFRs. We find that the SFRs of type 1 and type 2 sources are similar once their redshifts and X-ray luminosities are controlled. We also investigate cosmic environment, and find that the surface number densities (sub-Mpc) and cosmic-web environments (≈ 1-10 Mpc) are similar for both populations. In summary, our analyses show that the host galaxies of type 1 and type 2 AGNs have similar SFR and cosmic environment in general, but the former tend to have lower M than the latter. The difference in M indicates that the AGN unification model is not strictly correct and both host galaxy and torus may contribute to the optical obscuration of AGNs.

We present the X-ray point-source catalogs in two of the XMM-Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (XMM-SERVS) fields, W-CDF-S (4.6 deg 2 ) and ELAIS-S1 (3.2 deg 2 ), aiming to fill the gap between deep pencil-beam X-ray surveys and shallow X-ray surveys over large areas. The W-CDF-S and ELAIS-S1 regions were targeted with 2.3 and 1.0 Ms of XMM-Newton observations, respectively; 1.8 and 0.9 Ms exposures remain after flare filtering. The survey in W-CDF-S has a flux limit of 1.0 × 10 −14 erg cm −2 s −1 over 90% of its area in the 0.5-10 keV band; 4053 sources are detected in total. The survey in ELAIS-S1 has a flux limit of 1.3 × 10 −14 erg cm −2 s −1 over 90% of its area in the 0.5-10 keV band; 2630 sources are detected in total. Reliable optical-to-IR multiwavelength counterpart candidates are identified for ≈89% of the sources in W-CDF-S and ≈87% of the sources in ELAIS-S1. A total of 3129 sources in W-CDF-S and 1957 sources in ELAIS-S1 are classified as active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We also provide photometric redshifts for X-ray sources; ≈84% of the 3319/2001 sources in W-CDF-S/ELAIS-S1 with optical-to-near-IR forced photometry available have either spectroscopic redshifts or high-quality photometric redshifts. The completion of the XMM-Newton observations in the W-CDF-S and ELAIS-S1 fields marks the end of the XMM-SERVS survey data gathering. The ≈12,000 pointlike X-ray sources detected in the whole ≈13 deg 2 XMM-SERVS survey will benefit future large-sample AGN studies.

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