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Register a new userA Large Systematic Search for Recoiling and Close Supermassive Binary Black Holes
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[ABRIDGED] We have carried out a systematic search for close supermassive black hole binaries among z < 0.7 SDSS quasars Such binaries are predicted by models of supermassive black hole and host galaxy co-evolution, therefore their census and population properties constitute an important test of these models. We used an automatic technique based on spectroscopic principal component analysis to search for broad H-beta lines that are displaced from the rest-frame of the quasar by more than 1,000 km/s This method can also yield candidates for rapidly recoiling black holes. Our search yielded 88 candidates, several of which were previously identified and discussed in the literature. The widths of the broad H-beta lines are typical among quasars but the shifts are extreme. We found a correlation between the peak offset and skewness of the broad H-beta profiles, which suggests that the profiles we have selected share a common physical explanation. The general properties of the narrow emission lines are typical of quasars. We carried out followup spectroscopic observations of 68 objects to search for changes in the peak velocities of the H-beta lines (the time interval in the observers frame between the original and new observations is 1-10 yr). We measured significant changes in 14 objects, with resulting accelerations between -120 and +120 km/s/yr. We emphasize that interpretation of the offset broad emission lines as signatures of supermassive binaries is subject to many significant caveats. Many more followup observations over a long temporal baseline are needed to characterize the variability pattern of the broad lines and test that this pattern is indeed consistent with orbital motion. The possibility that some of the objects in this sample are rapidly recoiling black holes remains open as the available data do not provide strong constraints for this scenario.
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We have been spectroscopically monitoring 88 quasars selected to have broad H$beta$ emission lines offset from their systemic redshift by thousands of km s$^{-1}$. By analogy with single-lined spectroscopic binary stars, we consider these quasars to be candidates for hosting supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs). In this work we present new radial velocity measurements, typically 3-4 per object over a time period of up to 12 years in the observers frame. In 29/88 of the SBHB candidates no variability of the shape of the broad H$beta$ profile is observed, which allows us to make reliable measurements of radial velocity changes. Among these, we identify three objects that have displayed systematic and monotonic velocity changes by several hundred km s$^{-1}$ and are prime targets for further monitoring. Because the periods of the hypothetical binaries are expected to be long, we cannot hope to observe many orbital cycles during our lifetimes. Instead, we seek to evaluate the credentials of the SBHB candidates by attempting to rule out the SBHB hypothesis. In this spirit, we present a method for placing a lower limit on the period, and thus the mass, of the SBHBs under the assumption that the velocity changes we observe are due to orbital motion. Given the duration of our monitoring campaign and the uncertainties in the radial velocities, we were able to place a lower limit on the total mass in the range $4.7times10^4-3.8times10^8$ $M_{scriptscriptstyle odot}$, which does not yet allow us to rule out the SBHB hypothesis for any candidates.
We present new spectroscopic observations that are part of our continuing monitoring campaign of 88 quasars at z<0.7 whose broad H$beta$ lines are offset from their systemic redshifts by a few thousand km/s. These quasars have been considered candidates for hosting supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) by analogy with single-lined spectroscopic binary stars. We present the data and describe our improved analysis techniques, which include an extensive evaluation of uncertainties. We also present a variety of measurements from the spectra that are of general interest and will be useful in later stages of our analysis. Additionally, we take this opportunity to study the variability of the optical continuum and integrated flux of the broad H$beta$ line. We compare the variability properties of the SBHB candidates to those of a sample of typical quasars with similar redshifts and luminosities observed multiple times during the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that the variability properties of the two samples are similar (variability amplitudes of 10-30% on time scales of approximately 1-7 years) and that their structure functions can be described by a common model with parameters characteristic of typical quasars. These results suggest that the broad-line regions of SBHB candidates have a similar extent as those of typical quasars. We discuss the implications of this result for the SBHB scenario and ensuing constraints on the orbital parameters.
Detection of electromagnetic (EM) counterparts of pre-coalescence binaries has very important implications for our understanding of the evolution of these systems as well as the associated accretion physics. In addition, a combination of EM and gravitational wave signatures observed from coalescing supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) would provide independent measurements of redshift and luminosity distance, thus allowing for high precision cosmological measurements. However, a statistically significant sample of these objects is yet to be attained and finding them observationally has proven to be a difficult task. Here we discuss existing observational evidence and how further advancements in the theoretical understanding of observational signatures of SBHBs before and after the coalescence can help in future searches.
The coalescence of a binary black hole can be accompanied by a large gravitational recoil due to anisotropic emission of gravitational waves. A recoiling supermassive black hole (SBH) can subsequently undergo long-lived oscillations in the potential well of its host galaxy, suggesting that offset SBHs may be common in the cores of massive ellipticals. We have analyzed HST archival images of 14 nearby core ellipticals, finding evidence for small ($lesssim 10$ pc) displacements between the AGN (locating the SBH) and the center of the galaxy (the mean photocenter) in 10 of them. Excluding objects that may be affected by large-scale isophotal asymmetries, we consider six galaxies to have detected displacements, including M87, where a displacement was previously reported by Batcheldor et al. 2010. In individual objects, these displacements can be attributed to residual gravitational recoil oscillations following a major or minor merger within the last few Gyr. For plausible merger rates, however, there is a high probability of larger displacements than those observed, if SBH coalescence took place in these galaxies. Remarkably, the AGN-photocenter displacements are approximately aligned with the radio source axis in four of the six galaxies with displacements, including three of the four having relatively powerful kpc-scale jets. This suggests intrinsic asymmetries in radio jet power as a possible displacement mechanism, although approximate alignments are also expected for gravitational recoil. Orbital motion in SBH binaries and interactions with massive perturbers can produce the observed displacement amplitudes but do not offer a ready explanation for the alignments.
We follow trajectories of recoiling supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in analytical and numerical models of galaxy merger remnants with masses of $10^{11} rm{M_{sun}}$ and $10^{12} rm{M_{sun}}$. We construct various merger remnant galaxies in order to investigate how the central SMBH mass and the mass ratio of progenitor galaxies influence escape velocities of recoiling SMBHs. Our results show that static analytical models of major merger remnant galaxies overestimate the SMBHs escape velocities. During major mergers violent relaxation leads to the decrease of galaxy mass and lower potential at large remnant radii. This process is not depicted in static analytical potential but clearly seen in our numerical models. Thus, the evolving numerical model is a more realistic description of dynamical processes in galaxies with merging SMBHs. We find that SMBH escape velocities in numerical major merger remnant galaxies can be up to 25 per cent lower compared to those in analytical models. Consequently, SMBHs in numerical models generally reach greater galactocentric distances and spend more time on bound orbits outside of the galactic nuclei. Thus, numerical models predict a greater number of spatially-offset active galactic nuclei (AGNs).
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