Статья

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Observations of supermassive black hole binary candidates

Adam D. HincksSpecola Vaticana (Vatican Observatory) , V-00120 Vatican City , Vatican City StatePrzemek MrózSigurd K. NaessInstitute of Theoretical Astrophysics , University of Oslo , NorwayS. KiehlmannInstitute of Astrophysics , Foundation for Research & Technology- Hellas , GR-71110 Heraklion , GreeceR. D. BlandfordKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology , Depart- ment of Physics , Stanford University , Stanford , CA 94305 , USAJ. Richard BondCanadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics , University of Toronto , 60 St. George Street , Toronto , ON M5S 3H8 , CanadaMark DevlinDepartment of Physics & Astronomy , University of Pennsylvania , 209 South 33rd Street , Philadelphia , PA 19104 , USAJo DunkleyDepartment of Astrophysical Sciences , Peyton Hall , Princeton Uni- versity , Princeton , NJ 08544 , USAA. FosterJoseph Henry Laboratories of Physics , Jadwin Hall , Princeton Uni- versity , Princeton , NJ 08544 , USAMatthew J. GrahamDivision of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy , California Insti- tute of Technology , Pasadena , CA 91125 , USAYilun GuanDunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics , University of Toronto , 50 St. George St. , Toronto , ON M5S 3H4 , CanadaCarlos Hervías-CaimapoInstituto de Astrofísica & Centro de Astro-Ingeniería , Facultad de Física , Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile , Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860 , 7820436 Macul , Santiago , ChileJ. C. HoodDepartment of Astronomy & Astrophysics , University of Chicago , 5640 South Ellis Avenue , Chicago , IL 60637 , USAArthur KosowskyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy , University of Pittsburgh , 3941 O'Hara Street , Pittsburgh , PA 15260 , USAAretaios LalakosWalter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics , California Institute of Technology , Pasadena , CA 91125 , USAElias R. MostTAPIR , Mailcode 350-17 ,Michael D. NiemackDepartment of Astronomy , Cornell University , Ithaca , NY 14853 , USAJohn Orlowski-SchererDepartment of Physics & Astronomy , University of Pennsylvania , 209 South 33rd Street , Philadelphia , PA 19104 , USALyman A. PageJoseph Henry Laboratories of Physics , Jadwin Hall , Princeton Uni- versity , Princeton , NJ 08544 , USABruce PartridgeDepartment of Physics & Astronomy , Haverford College , Haver- ford , PA 19041 , USAA. C. S. ReadheadOwens Valley Radio Observatory , California Institute of Technol- ogy , Pasadena , CA 91125 , USACristóbal SifónInstituto de Física , Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso , Casilla 4059 , Valparaíso , ChileSuzanne T. StaggsJoseph Henry Laboratories of Physics , Jadwin Hall , Princeton Uni- versity , Princeton , NJ 08544 , USAAndrew G. SullivanKavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology , Depart- ment of Physics , Stanford University , Stanford , CA 94305 , USACristian VargasMitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics & Astronomy and Department of Physics & Astronomy , Texas A&M University , Col- lege Station , TX 77843 , USA

2026en

ABI

Аннотация

Large sinusoidal variations in the radio light curves of the blazars PKS J0805–0111 and PKS 2131–021 have recently been discovered with an 18-year monitoring programme at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, making these systems strong supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidates. The sinusoidal variations in PKS 2131–021 dominate its light curves from 2.7 GHz to optical frequencies. We report sinusoidal variations observed in both objects with the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 95, 147, and 225 GHz consistent with the radio light curves. The ACT 95 GHz light curve of PKS 2131–021 agrees well with the contemporaneous 91.5 GHz ALMA light curve and is comparable in quality, while the ACT light curves of PKS J0805–0111, for which there are no ALMA or other millimetre light curves, show that PKS 2131–021 is not an isolated case, and that this class of AGN exhibits the following properties: (a) the sinusoidal pattern dominates over a broad range of frequencies; (b) the amplitude of the sine wave compared to its mean value is monochromatic (i.e. nearly constant across frequencies); (c) the phase of the sinusoid phase changes monotonically as a function of frequency; (d) the sinusoidal variations are intermittent. We describe a physical model for SMBHB systems, the modified Kinetic Orbital model, that explains all four of these phenomena. The monitoring of ∼8000 blazars by the Simons Observatory over the next decade should provide a large number of SMBHB candidates that will shed light on the nature of the nanohertz gravitational-wave background.

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Идентификаторы

DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202555047/pdf

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