Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-07-13
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, submitted to ApJL. See http://people.ucsc.edu/~rmcgurk/McGurk_dualagn.pdf for a high-resolution
Scientific paper
Most massive galaxies contain supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in their cores. When galaxies merge, gas is driven to nuclear regions and can accrete onto the central black hole. Thus one expects to see dual AGN in a fraction of galaxy mergers. Candidates for galaxies containing dual AGN have been identified by the presence of double-peaked narrow [O III] emission lines and by high spatial resolution images of close galaxy pairs. Spatially-resolved spectroscopy is needed to confirm these galaxy pairs as systems with spatially-separated double SMBHs. With the Keck 2 Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics system and the OSIRIS near-infrared integral field spectrograph, we obtained spatially-resolved spectra for SDSS J09527.62+255257.2, a radio-quiet quasar shown by previous imaging to consist of a galaxy and its close (1.0") companion. We find that the main galaxy is a Type 1 AGN with both broad and narrow AGN emission lines in its spectrum, while the companion galaxy is a Type 2 AGN with narrow emission lines only. The two AGN are separated by 4.8 kpc, and their redshifts correspond to those of the double peaks of the [O III] emission line seen in the SDSS spectrum. Line diagnostics indicate that both components of the double [O III] emission lines are due to AGN photoionization. These results confirm that J0952+2552 contains two spatially-separated AGN. As one of the few confirmed dual AGN at an intermediate separation of < 10 kpc, this system offers a unique opportunity to study galaxy mergers and their effect on black hole growth.
Max Claire Ellen
McGurk Rosalie C.
Rosario David J.
Shields Gregory A.
Smith Kermit L.
No associations
LandOfFree
Spatially-Resolved Spectroscopy of SDSS J0952+2552: a Confirmed Dual AGN does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Spatially-Resolved Spectroscopy of SDSS J0952+2552: a Confirmed Dual AGN, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Spatially-Resolved Spectroscopy of SDSS J0952+2552: a Confirmed Dual AGN will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-224221