ترغب بنشر مسار تعليمي؟ اضغط هنا

A candidate sub-parsec binary black hole in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7674

215   0   0.0 ( 0 )
 نشر من قبل Preeti Kharb
 تاريخ النشر 2017
  مجال البحث فيزياء
والبحث باللغة English
 تأليف Preeti Kharb




اسأل ChatGPT حول البحث

The existence of binary supermassive black holes (SBHs) is predicted by models of hierarchical galaxy formation. To date, only a single binary SBH has been imaged, at a projected separation of 7.3 parsecs. Here we report the detection of a candidate dual SBH with projected separation of 0.35 pc in the gas-rich interacting spiral galaxy NGC 7674 (Mrk 533). This peculiar Seyfert galaxy possesses a $sim$0.7 kpc Z-shaped radio jet; the leading model for the formation of such sources postulates the presence of an uncoalesced binary SBH created during the infall of a satellite galaxy. Using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), we imaged the central region of Mrk 533 at radio frequencies of 2, 5, 8 and 15 GHz. Two, possibly inverted-spectrum radio cores were detected at 15 GHz only; the 8-15 GHz spectral indices of the two cores are $ge-0.33$ and $ge-0.38$ ($pm 30%$), consistent with accreting SBHs. We derive a jet speed $sim0.28c$ from multi-epoch parsec-scale data of the hotspot region, and a source age $ge8.2times10^3$ yrs.



قيم البحث

اقرأ أيضاً

194 - Todd A. Boroson 2009
We identify SDSS J153636.22+044127.0, a QSO discovered in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, as a promising candidate for a binary black hole system. This QSO has two broad-line emission systems separated by 3500 km/sec. The redder system at z=0.3889 also has a typical set of narrow forbidden lines. The bluer system (z=0.3727) shows only broad Balmer lines and UV Fe II emission, making it highly unusual in its lack of narrow lines. A third system, which includes only unresolved absorption lines, is seen at a redshift, z=0.3878, intermediate between the two emission-line systems. While the observational signatures of binary nuclear black holes remain unclear, J1536+0441 is unique among all QSOs known in having two broad-line regions, indicative of two separate black holes presently accreting gas. The interpretation of this as a bound binary system of two black holes having masses of 10^8.9 and 10^7.3 solar masses, yields a separation of ~ 0.1 parsec and an orbital period of ~100 years. The separation implies that the two black holes are orbiting within a single narrow-line region, consistent with the characteristics of the spectrum. This object was identified as an extreme outlier of a Karhunen-Loeve Transform of 17,500 z < 0.7 QSO spectra from the SDSS. The probability of the spectrum resulting from a chance superposition of two QSOs with similar redshifts is estimated at 2X10^-7, leading to the expectation of 0.003 such objects in the sample studied; however, even in this case, the spectrum of the lower redshift QSO remains highly unusual.
113 - Tamara Bogdanovic , 2009
A search for recoiling supermassive black hole candidates recently yielded the best candidate thus far, SDSS J092712.65+294344.0 reported by Komossa et al. Here we propose the alternative hypothesis that this object is a supermassive black hole binar y. From the velocity shift imprinted in the emission-line spectrum we infer an orbital period of ~190 years for a binary mass ratio of 0.1, a secondary black hole mass of 100 million solar masses, and assuming inclination and orbital phase angles of 45 degrees. In this model the origin of the blueshifted narrow emission lines is naturally explained in the context of an accretion flow within the inner rim of the circumbinary disk. We attribute the blueshifted broad emission lines to gas associated with a disk around the accreting secondary black hole. We show that, within the uncertainties, this binary system can be long lived and thus, is not observed in a special moment in time. The orbital motion of the binary can potentially be observed with the VLBA if at least the secondary black hole is a radio emitter. In addition, for the parameters quoted above, the orbital motion will result in a ~100 km/s velocity shift of the emission lines on a time scale of about a year, providing a direct observational test for the binary hypothesis.
Dual/binary Supermassive Black Hole (SMBH) systems are the inevitable consequence of the current Lambda Cold Dark Matter cosmological paradigm. In this context, we discuss here the properties of MCG+11-11-032, a local (z=0.0362) Seyfert 2 galaxy. Thi s source was proposed as a dual AGN candidate on the basis of the presence of double-peaked [OIII] emission lines in its optical spectrum. MCG+11-11-032 is also an X-ray variable source and was observed several times by the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) on time scales from days to years. In this work, we analyze the SDSS-DR13 spectrum and find evidence for double-peaked profiles in all the strongest narrow emission lines. We also study the XRT light curve and unveil the presence of an alternating behavior of the intrinsic 0.3-10 keV flux, while the 123-month Swift BAT light curve supports the presence of almost regular peaks and dips almost every 25 months. In addition, the XRT spectrum suggests for the presence of two narrow emission lines with rest-frame energies of E~6.16 keV and E~6.56 keV. Although by considering only the optical emission lines, different physical mechanisms may be invoked to explain the kinematical properties, the X-ray results are most naturally explained by the presence of a binary SMBH in the center of this source. In particular, we evidence a remarkable agreement between the putative SMBH pair orbital velocity derived from the BAT light curve and the velocity offset derived by the rest-frame Delta_E between the two X-ray line peaks in the XRT spectrum (i.e. Delta_v~0.06c).
Radial velocity monitoring has revealed the presence of moving broad emission lines in some quasars, potentially indicating the presence of a sub-parsec binary system. Phase-referenced, near-infrared interferometric observations could map out the bin ary orbit by measuring the photocenter difference between a broad emission line and the hot dust continuum. We show that astrometric data over several years may be able to detect proper motions and accelerations, confirming the presence of a binary and constraining system parameters. The brightness, redshifts, and astrometric sizes of current candidates are well matched to the capabilities of the upgraded VLTI/GRAVITY+ instrument, and we identify a first sample of 10 possible candidates. The astrometric signature depends on the morphology and evolution of hot dust emission in supermassive black hole binary systems. Measurements of the photocenter offset may reveal binary motion whether the hot dust emission region is fixed to the inner edge of the circumbinary disk, or moves in response to the changing irradiation pattern from an accreting secondary black hole.
We present analysis of Chandra X-ray observations of seven quasars that were identified as candidate sub-parsec binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) systems in the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey (CRTS) based on apparent periodicity in their opt ical light curves. Simulations predict close-separation accreting SMBH binaries will have different X-ray spectra than single accreting SMBHs, including harder or softer X-ray spectra, ripple-like profiles in the Fe K-$alpha$ line, and distinct peaks in the spectrum due to the separation of the accretion disk into a circumbinary disk and mini-disks around each SMBH. We obtained Chandra observations to test these models and assess whether these quasars could contain binary SMBHs. We instead find that the quasar spectra are all well fit by simple absorbed power law models, with the rest frame 2-10 keV photon indices, $Gamma$, and the X-ray-to-optical power slopes, $alpha_{rm OX}$, indistinguishable from the larger quasar population. This may indicate that these seven quasars are not truly sub-parsec binary SMBH systems, or it may simply reflect that our sample size was too small to robustly detect any differences. Alternatively, the X-ray spectral changes might only be evident at higher energies than probed by Chandra. Given the available models and current data, no firm conclusions are drawn. These observations will help motivate and direct further work on theoretical models of binary SMBH systems, such as modeling systems with thinner accretion disks and larger binary separations.
التعليقات
جاري جلب التعليقات جاري جلب التعليقات
سجل دخول لتتمكن من متابعة معايير البحث التي قمت باختيارها
mircosoft-partner

هل ترغب بارسال اشعارات عن اخر التحديثات في شمرا-اكاديميا