VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN using Radio interferometry

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Schwartzman, Emma, Clarke, Tracy E., Nyland, Kristina, Secrest, Nathan J., Pfeifle, Ryan W., Schmitt, Henrique R., Satyapal, Shobita, Rothberg, Barry
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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_version_ 1866913208145543168
author Schwartzman, Emma
Clarke, Tracy E.
Nyland, Kristina
Secrest, Nathan J.
Pfeifle, Ryan W.
Schmitt, Henrique R.
Satyapal, Shobita
Rothberg, Barry
author_facet Schwartzman, Emma
Clarke, Tracy E.
Nyland, Kristina
Secrest, Nathan J.
Pfeifle, Ryan W.
Schmitt, Henrique R.
Satyapal, Shobita
Rothberg, Barry
contents Binary and dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) are an important observational tool for studying the formation and dynamical evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBHs). An entirely new method for identifying possible AGN pairs makes use of the exquisite positional accuracy of Gaia to detect astrometrically-variable quasars, in tandem with the high spatial resolution of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We present a new pilot study of radio observations of 18 quasars (0.8 < z < 2.9), selected from the SDSS DR16Q and matched with the Gaia DR3. All 18 targets are identified by their excess astrometric noise in Gaia. We targeted these 18 quasars with the VLA at 2-4 GHz (S-band) and 8-12 GHz (X-band), providing resolutions of 0.65" and 0.2", respectively, in order to constrain the origin of this variability. We combine these data with ancillary radio survey data and perform radio spectral modeling. The new observations are used to constrain the driver of the excess astrometric noise. We find that ~39% of the target sample is likely to be either candidate dual AGN or gravitationally lensed quasars. Ultimately, we use this new strategy to help identify and understand this sample of astrometrically-variable quasars, demonstrate the potential of this method for systematically identifying kpc-scale dual quasars.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2306_13219
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN using Radio interferometry
Schwartzman, Emma
Clarke, Tracy E.
Nyland, Kristina
Secrest, Nathan J.
Pfeifle, Ryan W.
Schmitt, Henrique R.
Satyapal, Shobita
Rothberg, Barry
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Binary and dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) are an important observational tool for studying the formation and dynamical evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBHs). An entirely new method for identifying possible AGN pairs makes use of the exquisite positional accuracy of Gaia to detect astrometrically-variable quasars, in tandem with the high spatial resolution of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We present a new pilot study of radio observations of 18 quasars (0.8 < z < 2.9), selected from the SDSS DR16Q and matched with the Gaia DR3. All 18 targets are identified by their excess astrometric noise in Gaia. We targeted these 18 quasars with the VLA at 2-4 GHz (S-band) and 8-12 GHz (X-band), providing resolutions of 0.65" and 0.2", respectively, in order to constrain the origin of this variability. We combine these data with ancillary radio survey data and perform radio spectral modeling. The new observations are used to constrain the driver of the excess astrometric noise. We find that ~39% of the target sample is likely to be either candidate dual AGN or gravitationally lensed quasars. Ultimately, we use this new strategy to help identify and understand this sample of astrometrically-variable quasars, demonstrate the potential of this method for systematically identifying kpc-scale dual quasars.
title VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN using Radio interferometry
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.13219