A Delayed Radio Flare Traces Kinetic Energy Injection in the SMBHB Candidate SDSS~J143016.05+230344.4

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Auteurs principaux: An, Tao, Wang, Ailing, Zhang, Yingkang, Yang, Lei, Shu, Xinwen, Zhang, Fabao, Jiang, Ning, Wang, Tinggui, Yang, Huan, Pan, Zhen, Dou, Liming, Xu, Zhijun, Zheng, Zhenya, Lin, Ruqiu, Li, Xiaofeng
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Publié: 2026
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author An, Tao
Wang, Ailing
Zhang, Yingkang
Yang, Lei
Shu, Xinwen
Zhang, Fabao
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Tinggui
Yang, Huan
Pan, Zhen
Dou, Liming
Xu, Zhijun
Zheng, Zhenya
Lin, Ruqiu
Li, Xiaofeng
author_facet An, Tao
Wang, Ailing
Zhang, Yingkang
Yang, Lei
Shu, Xinwen
Zhang, Fabao
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Tinggui
Yang, Huan
Pan, Zhen
Dou, Liming
Xu, Zhijun
Zheng, Zhenya
Lin, Ruqiu
Li, Xiaofeng
contents SDSS~J143016.05+230344.4 ($z=0.08105$) has been proposed as a candidate pre-coalescence supermassive black hole binary and shows remarkable multiwavelength variability. Its radio evolution provides a direct probe of the compact emitting region and of the physical origin of the late-time activity. We aim to localize the variable radio emission, characterize its spectral evolution, and constrain whether the radio brightening is produced by a newly emerging compact component, external absorption, or dissipation in a structured circumnuclear environment. At all epochs, the radio emission is dominated by a single unresolved milliarcsecond core with $T_{\rm B} \gtrsim 10^{7}$ K, constraining the variable emission to $\lesssim 0.3$ pc. The broadband spectra require two synchrotron self-absorbed components: a persistent low-frequency component with $ν_{\rm p,steady} \approx 0.74$ GHz and $S_{\rm p,steady} \approx 1.22$ mJy, and a flare component whose turnover evolves from $(6.35 {\rm GHz}, 0.18 {\rm mJy})$ in 2022 February-May to $(8.61 {\rm GHz}, 0.38 {\rm mJy})$ in 2022 December, and then to $(5.83 {\rm GHz}, 0.25 {\rm mJy})$ in 2023 March-April. The flare contribution at 15 GHz reaches $\sim 80\%$ and matches the near-epoch VLBI recovery fraction, showing that the high-frequency brightening arises from a newly formed compact synchrotron component. A second brightening of the 15.2 GHz VLBI core is detected between 2023 September and 2024 February, while the source remains unresolved. Equipartition scalings imply characteristic radii of $\sim 5 \times 10^{-4}$ pc for the flare and $\sim 9 \times 10^{-3}$ pc for the steady component, and indicate a steep inner circumnuclear density profile, $n \propto R^{-1.7}$. The delayed radio flare is best explained by dissipation in an outflow or jet-base disturbance propagating through a structured circumnuclear medium.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_07161
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Delayed Radio Flare Traces Kinetic Energy Injection in the SMBHB Candidate SDSS~J143016.05+230344.4
An, Tao
Wang, Ailing
Zhang, Yingkang
Yang, Lei
Shu, Xinwen
Zhang, Fabao
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Tinggui
Yang, Huan
Pan, Zhen
Dou, Liming
Xu, Zhijun
Zheng, Zhenya
Lin, Ruqiu
Li, Xiaofeng
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
SDSS~J143016.05+230344.4 ($z=0.08105$) has been proposed as a candidate pre-coalescence supermassive black hole binary and shows remarkable multiwavelength variability. Its radio evolution provides a direct probe of the compact emitting region and of the physical origin of the late-time activity. We aim to localize the variable radio emission, characterize its spectral evolution, and constrain whether the radio brightening is produced by a newly emerging compact component, external absorption, or dissipation in a structured circumnuclear environment. At all epochs, the radio emission is dominated by a single unresolved milliarcsecond core with $T_{\rm B} \gtrsim 10^{7}$ K, constraining the variable emission to $\lesssim 0.3$ pc. The broadband spectra require two synchrotron self-absorbed components: a persistent low-frequency component with $ν_{\rm p,steady} \approx 0.74$ GHz and $S_{\rm p,steady} \approx 1.22$ mJy, and a flare component whose turnover evolves from $(6.35 {\rm GHz}, 0.18 {\rm mJy})$ in 2022 February-May to $(8.61 {\rm GHz}, 0.38 {\rm mJy})$ in 2022 December, and then to $(5.83 {\rm GHz}, 0.25 {\rm mJy})$ in 2023 March-April. The flare contribution at 15 GHz reaches $\sim 80\%$ and matches the near-epoch VLBI recovery fraction, showing that the high-frequency brightening arises from a newly formed compact synchrotron component. A second brightening of the 15.2 GHz VLBI core is detected between 2023 September and 2024 February, while the source remains unresolved. Equipartition scalings imply characteristic radii of $\sim 5 \times 10^{-4}$ pc for the flare and $\sim 9 \times 10^{-3}$ pc for the steady component, and indicate a steep inner circumnuclear density profile, $n \propto R^{-1.7}$. The delayed radio flare is best explained by dissipation in an outflow or jet-base disturbance propagating through a structured circumnuclear medium.
title A Delayed Radio Flare Traces Kinetic Energy Injection in the SMBHB Candidate SDSS~J143016.05+230344.4
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07161