CGRO BATSE-Observed Piccinotti Sample of Active Galactic Nuclei

36 sources from the Piccinotti sample, a complete 20-10 keV extragalactic sky survey, were analyzed using nearly 4 years of Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) BATSE Earth-occultation data. The analysis, published by Malizia et al. in 1999, detected 14 sources above a 5-sigma confidence level and reported upper limits for nine others. This HEASARC database was created by NASA in October 1999 based on the published results.

Use Cases

• Analyze gamma-ray emission from AGNs based on the 20-100 keV band flux measurements.
• Compare spectral properties across energy bands based on the comparison of BATSE fluxes with 2-10 keV X-ray fluxes.
• Study the completeness of extragalactic surveys based on the Piccinotti sample's limiting flux of 3.1 x 10^-11 ergs cm^-2 s^-1.
• Assess data analysis robustness for Earth-occultation techniques based on the comparison with higher-energy data mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Derived from a nearly 4-year observational period from the CGRO BATSE instrument.
• Based on the Piccinotti sample, described as the only complete 20-10 keV survey of the extragalactic sky to its date.
• Provides detection confidence levels (5-sigma, 3-5 sigma) and flux upper limits for a defined sample of 36 sources.

Limitations

• The description notes flux measurements may be overestimated by as much as 35% in some sources due to probable incomplete data cleaning.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

NASA HEASARC, based on Table 1 of Malizia et al. (1999) and the original Piccinotti Catalog.

Collection Method

Analysis of CGRO BATSE Earth-occultation data.

Time Range

Observational period of nearly 4 years (specific dates not provided).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 19:06:01.693952; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Extragalactic sky.