In this Letter, we explore the hypothesis that the quasar SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 is hosting a massive black hole binary embedded in a circumbinary disc. The lightest, secondary black hole is active, and gas orbiting around it is responsible for the blue-shifted broad emission lines with velocity off-set of 2650 km s-1, relative to the galaxy rest frame. As the tidal interaction of the binary with the outer disc is expected to excavate a gap, the blue-shifted narrow emission lines are consistent with being emitted from the low-density inhomogeneous gas of the hollow region. From the observations, we infer a binary mass ratio q ≈ 0.3, a mass for the primary of M1 ≈ 2 × 109 M⊙, and a semimajor axis of 0.34 pc, corresponding to an orbital period of 370 years. We use the results of cosmological merger trees to estimate the likelihood of observing SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 as recoiling black hole or as a binary. We find that the binary hypothesis is preferred being 100 times more probable than the ejection hypothesis. If SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 hosts a binary, it would be the one closest massive black hole binary system ever discovered. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.

Dotti, M., Montuori, C., Decarli, R., Volonteri, M., Colpi, M., Haardt, F. (2009). SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0: A candidate massive black hole binary. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. LETTERS, 398(1), L73-L77 [10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00714.x].

SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0: A candidate massive black hole binary

DOTTI, MASSIMO;COLPI, MONICA;
2009

Abstract

In this Letter, we explore the hypothesis that the quasar SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 is hosting a massive black hole binary embedded in a circumbinary disc. The lightest, secondary black hole is active, and gas orbiting around it is responsible for the blue-shifted broad emission lines with velocity off-set of 2650 km s-1, relative to the galaxy rest frame. As the tidal interaction of the binary with the outer disc is expected to excavate a gap, the blue-shifted narrow emission lines are consistent with being emitted from the low-density inhomogeneous gas of the hollow region. From the observations, we infer a binary mass ratio q ≈ 0.3, a mass for the primary of M1 ≈ 2 × 109 M⊙, and a semimajor axis of 0.34 pc, corresponding to an orbital period of 370 years. We use the results of cosmological merger trees to estimate the likelihood of observing SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 as recoiling black hole or as a binary. We find that the binary hypothesis is preferred being 100 times more probable than the ejection hypothesis. If SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0 hosts a binary, it would be the one closest massive black hole binary system ever discovered. © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 RAS.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
black hole physics; galaxies: kinematics and dynamics; galaxies: nuclei; quasars: individual: SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0
English
2009
398
1
L73
L77
none
Dotti, M., Montuori, C., Decarli, R., Volonteri, M., Colpi, M., Haardt, F. (2009). SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0: A candidate massive black hole binary. MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY. LETTERS, 398(1), L73-L77 [10.1111/j.1745-3933.2009.00714.x].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/21107
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