A case for a binary black hole system revealed via quasi-periodic outflows
A case for a binary black hole system revealed via quasi-periodic outflows
Binaries containing a compact object orbiting a supermassive black hole are thought to be precursors of gravitational wave events, but their identification has been extremely challenging. Here, we report quasi-periodic variability in X-ray absorption which we interpret as quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts) from a previously low-luminosity active galactic nucleus after an outburst, likely caused by a stellar tidal disruption. We rule out several models based on observed properties and instead show using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that QPOuts, separated by roughly 8.3 days, can be explained with an intermediate-mass black hole secondary on a mildly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about 100 gravitational radii from the primary. Our work suggests that QPOuts could be a new way to identify intermediate/extreme-mass ratio binary candidates.
astro-ph.HE
Pasham, Dheeraj R.
0205c46d-c904-447e-9846-1b198d64ff7d
Tombesi, Francesco
1927cf34-de0b-4583-ab82-4a22e432a3b4
Sukova, Petra
c7dac154-aae2-42a0-964c-b18abe7aed7a
Altamirano, Diego
d5ccdb09-0b71-4303-9538-05b467be075b
Pasham, Dheeraj R.
0205c46d-c904-447e-9846-1b198d64ff7d
Tombesi, Francesco
1927cf34-de0b-4583-ab82-4a22e432a3b4
Sukova, Petra
c7dac154-aae2-42a0-964c-b18abe7aed7a
Altamirano, Diego
d5ccdb09-0b71-4303-9538-05b467be075b
[Unknown type: UNSPECIFIED]
Abstract
Binaries containing a compact object orbiting a supermassive black hole are thought to be precursors of gravitational wave events, but their identification has been extremely challenging. Here, we report quasi-periodic variability in X-ray absorption which we interpret as quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts) from a previously low-luminosity active galactic nucleus after an outburst, likely caused by a stellar tidal disruption. We rule out several models based on observed properties and instead show using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that QPOuts, separated by roughly 8.3 days, can be explained with an intermediate-mass black hole secondary on a mildly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about 100 gravitational radii from the primary. Our work suggests that QPOuts could be a new way to identify intermediate/extreme-mass ratio binary candidates.
Text
2402.10140v1
- Author's Original
More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 15 February 2024
Additional Information:
Accepted for publication in Science Advances. We report a new supermassive black hole phenomenon that we call quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts)
Keywords:
astro-ph.HE
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Local EPrints ID: 487472
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/487472
PURE UUID: bc4bc98f-38b8-4198-b4bd-dd95aa2b015c
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Date deposited: 20 Feb 2024 18:21
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:27
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Contributors
Author:
Dheeraj R. Pasham
Author:
Francesco Tombesi
Author:
Petra Sukova
Corporate Author: et al.
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