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Title: Discovery of a Candidate Binary Supermassive Black Hole in a Periodic Quasar from Circumbinary Accretion Variability

Abstract

Binary supermassive black holes (BSBHs) are expected to be a generic byproduct from hierarchical galaxy formation. The final coalescence of BSBHs is thought to be the loudest gravitational wave (GW) siren, yet no confirmed BSBH is known in the GW-dominated regime. While periodic quasars have been proposed as BSBH candidates, the physical origin of the periodicity has been largely uncertain. Here we report discovery of a periodicity (P=1607±7 days) at 99.95% significance (with a global p-value of ~10-3 accounting for the look elsewhere effect) in the optical light curves of a redshift 1.53 quasar, SDSS J025214.67-002813.7. Combining archival Sloan Digital Sky Survey data with new, sensitive imaging from the Dark Energy Survey, the total ~20-yr time baseline spans ~4.6 cycles of the observed 4.4-yr (restframe 1.7-yr) periodicity. The light curves are best fit by a bursty model predicted by hydrodynamic simulations of circumbinary accretion disks. The periodicity is likely caused by accretion rate modulation by a milli-parsec BSBH emitting GWs, dynamically coupled to the circumbinary accretion disk. A bursty hydrodynamic variability model is statistically preferred over a smooth, sinusoidal model expected from relativistic Doppler boost, a kinematic effect proposed for PG1302-102. Furthermore, the frequency dependence of the variability amplitudes disfavors Doppler boost,more » lending independent support to the circumbinary accretion variability hypothesis. Given our detection rate of one BSBH candidate from circumbinary accretion variability out of 625 quasars, it suggests that future large, sensitive synoptic surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time may be able to detect hundreds to thousands of candidate BSBHs from circumbinary accretion with direct implications for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.« less

Authors:
 [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [6];  [9];  [10];  [11]; ORCiD logo [7] more »;  [12];  [1];  [13];  [14];  [15];  [16];  [17];  [15];  [18];  [19];  [7];  [11]; ORCiD logo [20];  [21];  [7];  [14];  [22];  [23]; ORCiD logo [14];  [24]; ORCiD logo [25];  [17];  [7];  [26];  [27];  [28]; ORCiD logo [29];  [30];  [31];  [32];  [33];  [17];  [34];  [1];  [35];  [36];  [37];  [18];  [7];  [38];  [14]; ORCiD logo [39];  [40]; ORCiD logo [41];  [42]; ORCiD logo [43];  [2];  [38];  [44];  [40] « less
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Department of Astronomy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA;National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
  2. National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 605 East Springfield Avenue, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
  3. School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Queensland, QLD 4072 Australia
  4. Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA;Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
  5. Department of Astronomy, The Ohio State University, 140 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, USA;Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodfuff Avenue, Columbus OH, 43210, USA
  6. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK;Kavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
  7. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P. O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA
  8. Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3FX, UK
  9. LSST, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
  10. CNRS, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014, Paris, France;Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7095, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, F-75014, Paris, France
  11. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
  12. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain;Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia - LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20921-400, Brazil
  13. Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) Spain
  14. Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), 08034 Barcelona, Spain;Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
  15. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, P. O. Box 2450, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
  16. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
  17. Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia - LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20921-400, Brazil;Observatório Nacional, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20921-400, Brazil
  18. Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain
  19. Department of Physics, IIT Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana 502285, India
  20. Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA;Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
  21. Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA;Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
  22. Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, P. O. Box 500, Batavia, IL 60510, USA;Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
  23. Instituto de Fisica Teorica UAM/CSIC, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
  24. Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria 3122, Australia
  25. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, P. O. Box 2450, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
  26. Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK;Department of Physics, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 16, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
  27. Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
  28. Center for Cosmology and Astro-Particle Physics, The Ohio State University, 191 West Woodfuff Avenue, Columbus OH, 43210, USA;Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
  29. Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstrasse, 85748 Garching, Germany;Universitäts-Sternwarte, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 München, Germany
  30. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
  31. Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065, USA
  32. Australian Astronomical Optics, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2113, Australia
  33. Departamento de Física Matemática, Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, CP 66318, São Paulo, SP, 05314-970, Brazil;Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia - LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20921-400, Brazil
  34. George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
  35. Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, E-08010 Barcelona, Spain;Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona) Spain
  36. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
  37. Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology, P. O. Box 2450, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA;Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria 3122, Australia
  38. Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
  39. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
  40. Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile
  41. Brandeis University, Physics Department, 415 South Street, Waltham MA 02453
  42. Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-859, Campinas, SP, Brazil;Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia - LIneA, Rua Gal. José Cristino 77, Rio de Janeiro, RJ - 20921-400, Brazil
  43. Computer Science and Mathematics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831
  44. Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, IL 60439, USA
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Contributing Org.:
DES Collaboration
OSTI Identifier:
1674991
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1779064; OSTI ID: 1782223; OSTI ID: 1820801; OSTI ID: 1871574
Report Number(s):
arXiv:2008.12317; FERMILAB-PUB-20-234-AE
Journal ID: ISSN 0035-8711; oai:inspirehep.net:1813881; TRN: US2203986
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02-07CH11359; AC05-00OR22725; GBMF4561; NA0003864; AST-1715579; AST-1138766; AST-1536171; SC0019193; AC02-76SF00515
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 500; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 0035-8711
Publisher:
Royal Astronomical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS; black hole physics; galaxies: active; galaxies: high-redshift; galaxies: nuclei; quasars: general; surveys

Citation Formats

Liao, Wei-Ting, Chen, Yu-Ching, Liu, Xin, Holgado, A. Miguel, Guo, Hengxiao, Gruendl, Robert, Morganson, Eric, Shen, Yue, Davis, Tamara, Kessler, Richard, Martini, Paul, McMahon, Richard G., Allam, Sahar, Annis, James, Avila, Santiago, Banerji, Manda, Bechtol, Keith, Bertin, Emmanuel, Brooks, David, Buckley-Geer, Elizabeth, Rosell, Aurelio Carnero, Kind, Matias Carrasco, Carretero, Jorge, Castander, Francisco Javier, Cunha, Carlos, D’Andrea, Chris, da Costa, Luiz, Davis, Christopher, De Vicente, Juan, Desai, Shantanu, Diehl, H. Thomas, Doel, Peter, Eifler, Tim, Evrard, August, Flaugher, Brenna, Fosalba, Pablo, Frieman, Josh, Garcia-Bellido, Juan, Gaztanaga, Enrique, Glazebrook, Karl, Gruen, Daniel, Gschwend, Julia, Gutierrez, Gaston, Hartley, Will, Hollowood, Devon L., Honscheid, Klaus, Hoyle, Ben, James, David, Krause, Elisabeth, Kuehn, Kyler, Lima, Marcos, Maia, Marcio, Marshall, Jennifer, Menanteau, Felipe, Miquel, Ramon, Malagń, Andrés Plazas, Roodman, Aaron, Sanchez, Eusebio, Scarpine, Vic, Schubnell, Michael, Serrano, Santiago, Smith, Mathew, Smith, R. Chris, Soares-Santos, Marcelle, Sobreira, Flavia, Suchyta, Eric, Swanson, Molly, Tarle, Gregory, Vikram, Vinu, and Walker, Alistair. Discovery of a Candidate Binary Supermassive Black Hole in a Periodic Quasar from Circumbinary Accretion Variability. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1093/mnras/staa3055.
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Liao, Wei-Ting, Chen, Yu-Ching, Liu, Xin, Holgado, A. Miguel, Guo, Hengxiao, Gruendl, Robert, Morganson, Eric, Shen, Yue, Davis, Tamara, Kessler, Richard, Martini, Paul, McMahon, Richard G., Allam, Sahar, Annis, James, Avila, Santiago, Banerji, Manda, Bechtol, Keith, Bertin, Emmanuel, Brooks, David, Buckley-Geer, Elizabeth, Rosell, Aurelio Carnero, Kind, Matias Carrasco, Carretero, Jorge, Castander, Francisco Javier, Cunha, Carlos, D’Andrea, Chris, da Costa, Luiz, Davis, Christopher, De Vicente, Juan, Desai, Shantanu, Diehl, H. Thomas, Doel, Peter, Eifler, Tim, Evrard, August, Flaugher, Brenna, Fosalba, Pablo, Frieman, Josh, Garcia-Bellido, Juan, Gaztanaga, Enrique, Glazebrook, Karl, Gruen, Daniel, Gschwend, Julia, Gutierrez, Gaston, Hartley, Will, Hollowood, Devon L., Honscheid, Klaus, Hoyle, Ben, James, David, Krause, Elisabeth, Kuehn, Kyler, Lima, Marcos, Maia, Marcio, Marshall, Jennifer, Menanteau, Felipe, Miquel, Ramon, Malagń, Andrés Plazas, Roodman, Aaron, Sanchez, Eusebio, Scarpine, Vic, Schubnell, Michael, Serrano, Santiago, Smith, Mathew, Smith, R. Chris, Soares-Santos, Marcelle, Sobreira, Flavia, Suchyta, Eric, Swanson, Molly, Tarle, Gregory, Vikram, Vinu, & Walker, Alistair. Discovery of a Candidate Binary Supermassive Black Hole in a Periodic Quasar from Circumbinary Accretion Variability. United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3055
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Liao, Wei-Ting, Chen, Yu-Ching, Liu, Xin, Holgado, A. Miguel, Guo, Hengxiao, Gruendl, Robert, Morganson, Eric, Shen, Yue, Davis, Tamara, Kessler, Richard, Martini, Paul, McMahon, Richard G., Allam, Sahar, Annis, James, Avila, Santiago, Banerji, Manda, Bechtol, Keith, Bertin, Emmanuel, Brooks, David, Buckley-Geer, Elizabeth, Rosell, Aurelio Carnero, Kind, Matias Carrasco, Carretero, Jorge, Castander, Francisco Javier, Cunha, Carlos, D’Andrea, Chris, da Costa, Luiz, Davis, Christopher, De Vicente, Juan, Desai, Shantanu, Diehl, H. Thomas, Doel, Peter, Eifler, Tim, Evrard, August, Flaugher, Brenna, Fosalba, Pablo, Frieman, Josh, Garcia-Bellido, Juan, Gaztanaga, Enrique, Glazebrook, Karl, Gruen, Daniel, Gschwend, Julia, Gutierrez, Gaston, Hartley, Will, Hollowood, Devon L., Honscheid, Klaus, Hoyle, Ben, James, David, Krause, Elisabeth, Kuehn, Kyler, Lima, Marcos, Maia, Marcio, Marshall, Jennifer, Menanteau, Felipe, Miquel, Ramon, Malagń, Andrés Plazas, Roodman, Aaron, Sanchez, Eusebio, Scarpine, Vic, Schubnell, Michael, Serrano, Santiago, Smith, Mathew, Smith, R. Chris, Soares-Santos, Marcelle, Sobreira, Flavia, Suchyta, Eric, Swanson, Molly, Tarle, Gregory, Vikram, Vinu, and Walker, Alistair. Sat . "Discovery of a Candidate Binary Supermassive Black Hole in a Periodic Quasar from Circumbinary Accretion Variability". United States. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3055. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1674991.
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@article{osti_1674991,
title = {Discovery of a Candidate Binary Supermassive Black Hole in a Periodic Quasar from Circumbinary Accretion Variability},
author = {Liao, Wei-Ting and Chen, Yu-Ching and Liu, Xin and Holgado, A. Miguel and Guo, Hengxiao and Gruendl, Robert and Morganson, Eric and Shen, Yue and Davis, Tamara and Kessler, Richard and Martini, Paul and McMahon, Richard G. and Allam, Sahar and Annis, James and Avila, Santiago and Banerji, Manda and Bechtol, Keith and Bertin, Emmanuel and Brooks, David and Buckley-Geer, Elizabeth and Rosell, Aurelio Carnero and Kind, Matias Carrasco and Carretero, Jorge and Castander, Francisco Javier and Cunha, Carlos and D’Andrea, Chris and da Costa, Luiz and Davis, Christopher and De Vicente, Juan and Desai, Shantanu and Diehl, H. Thomas and Doel, Peter and Eifler, Tim and Evrard, August and Flaugher, Brenna and Fosalba, Pablo and Frieman, Josh and Garcia-Bellido, Juan and Gaztanaga, Enrique and Glazebrook, Karl and Gruen, Daniel and Gschwend, Julia and Gutierrez, Gaston and Hartley, Will and Hollowood, Devon L. and Honscheid, Klaus and Hoyle, Ben and James, David and Krause, Elisabeth and Kuehn, Kyler and Lima, Marcos and Maia, Marcio and Marshall, Jennifer and Menanteau, Felipe and Miquel, Ramon and Malagń, Andrés Plazas and Roodman, Aaron and Sanchez, Eusebio and Scarpine, Vic and Schubnell, Michael and Serrano, Santiago and Smith, Mathew and Smith, R. Chris and Soares-Santos, Marcelle and Sobreira, Flavia and Suchyta, Eric and Swanson, Molly and Tarle, Gregory and Vikram, Vinu and Walker, Alistair},
abstractNote = {Binary supermassive black holes (BSBHs) are expected to be a generic byproduct from hierarchical galaxy formation. The final coalescence of BSBHs is thought to be the loudest gravitational wave (GW) siren, yet no confirmed BSBH is known in the GW-dominated regime. While periodic quasars have been proposed as BSBH candidates, the physical origin of the periodicity has been largely uncertain. Here we report discovery of a periodicity (P=1607±7 days) at 99.95% significance (with a global p-value of ~10-3 accounting for the look elsewhere effect) in the optical light curves of a redshift 1.53 quasar, SDSS J025214.67-002813.7. Combining archival Sloan Digital Sky Survey data with new, sensitive imaging from the Dark Energy Survey, the total ~20-yr time baseline spans ~4.6 cycles of the observed 4.4-yr (restframe 1.7-yr) periodicity. The light curves are best fit by a bursty model predicted by hydrodynamic simulations of circumbinary accretion disks. The periodicity is likely caused by accretion rate modulation by a milli-parsec BSBH emitting GWs, dynamically coupled to the circumbinary accretion disk. A bursty hydrodynamic variability model is statistically preferred over a smooth, sinusoidal model expected from relativistic Doppler boost, a kinematic effect proposed for PG1302-102. Furthermore, the frequency dependence of the variability amplitudes disfavors Doppler boost, lending independent support to the circumbinary accretion variability hypothesis. Given our detection rate of one BSBH candidate from circumbinary accretion variability out of 625 quasars, it suggests that future large, sensitive synoptic surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time may be able to detect hundreds to thousands of candidate BSBHs from circumbinary accretion with direct implications for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna.},
doi = {10.1093/mnras/staa3055},
journal = {Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society},
number = 3,
volume = 500,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Sat Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3055
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