2016ApJ...831..185H

We present the 3-8 keV and 8-24 keV number counts of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified in the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) extragalactic surveys. NuSTAR has now resolved 33%-39% of the X-ray background in the 8-24 keV band, directly identifying AGNs with obscuring columns up to ∼10²⁵ cm^–2. In the softer 3-8 keV band the number counts are in general agreement with those measured by XMM-Newton and Chandra over the flux range 5×10^–15 \lesssimS(3-8 keV)/erg s^–1 cm^–2 \lesssim 10^–12 probed by NuSTAR. In the hard 8-24 keV band NuSTAR probes fluxes over the range 2×10^–14 \lesssimS(8-24 keV)/erg s^–1 cm^–2 \lesssim 10^–12, a factor ∼100 fainter than previous measurements. The 8-24 keV number counts match predictions from AGN population synthesis models, directly confirming the existence of a population of obscured and/or hard X-ray sources inferred from the shape of the integrated cosmic X-ray background. The measured NuSTAR counts lie significantly above simple extrapolation with a Euclidian slope to low flux of the Swift/BAT 15-55 keV number counts measured at higher fluxes (S(15-55 keV) >= 10^–11 erg s^–1 cm^–2), reflecting the evolution of the AGN population between the Swift/BAT local (z<0.1) sample and NuSTAR's z∼1 sample. CXB synthesis models, which account for AGN evolution, lie above the Swift/BAT measurements, suggesting that they do not fully capture the evolution of obscured AGNs at low redshifts.