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DOE OSTI2024

The Evolution of Accreting Binaries: From Brown Dwarfs to Supermassive Black Holes

Circumbinary accretion occurs throughout the universe, from the formation of stars and planets to the aftermath of major galactic mergers. We present an extensive investigation of circumbinary accretion disks, studying circular binaries with mass ratios (q ≡ M 2 /M 1 ) from 0.01 to 1 and at each mass ratio probing the effects of disk thickness and viscosity. We study disks with aspect ratios H/r ϵ {0.1, 0.05, 0.03} and vary both the magnitude and spatial dependence of viscosity. Although thin accretion disks have previously been found to promote rapid inspirals of equal-mass binaries, we find that gravitational torques become weaker at lower mass ratios and most binaries with 0.01 ≤ q ≤ 0.04 outspiral, which may delay the coalescence of black hole binaries formed from minor mergers and cause high-mass exoplanets to migrate outward. However, in a number of cases, the disks accreting onto binaries with mass ratios ~0.07 fail to develop eccentric modes, leading to extremely rapid inspirals. Variability in black hole accretion correlates with disk eccentricity, and we observe variability above the ~10% level even for mass ratios of 0.01. We demonstrate that the spatial dependence of the viscosity (e.g., α vs. constant ν) significantly affects the degree of preferential accretion onto the secondary, resolving discrepancies between previous studies. Colder circumbinary disks remain eccentric even at q ~ 0.01 and sustain deep, asymmetric cavities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Possible Tidal Disruption Event Candidate in the Black Hole Binary System of OJ 287

The BL Lacertae OJ 287 is a supermassive black hole binary system with complex physics of its irregular flares. During 2016 October–2017 April, a surprising outburst in the X-ray, UV, and optical bands was detected, while no variability was seen in the γ-ray light curve. During the outburst, the X-ray light curves were dominated by the soft X-rays, whose peak in luminosity was ~10 46 erg s -1 —more than 10 times higher than the mean level before the outburst—and a "softer-when-brighter" phenomenon was exhibited. These above phenomena have been reported by some previous works. The hardness ratio showed negligible evolution with flare time and soft X-ray luminosity. Critically, the luminosity of the soft X-rays decayed following a power law of $t$ -5/3 , which occurs in most tidal disruption events (TDEs), and a similar trend can be seen in the UV and optical bands during the soft X-ray declining period. Helium and oxygen narrow emission lines are strengthened prominently in the optical spectra of post outburst epochs, that could be attributed to the surrounding gas caused by TDE. In conclusion, we discuss three possible origins of the event, including the jet's precession, the aftereffects of the black hole–disk impaction, and the TDE. Our results show that the TDE is the more likely scenario to explain the outburst.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Evolution of Accreting Binaries: From Brown Dwarfs to Supermassive Black Holes

Circumbinary accretion occurs throughout the universe, from the formation of stars and planets to the aftermath of major galactic mergers. We present an extensive investigation of circumbinary accretion disks, studying circular binaries with mass ratios (q ≡ M 2 /M 1 ) from 0.01 to 1 and at each mass ratio probing the effects of disk thickness and viscosity. We study disks with aspect ratios H/r $\in$ {0.1, 0.05, 0.03} and vary both the magnitude and spatial dependence of viscosity. Although thin accretion disks have previously been found to promote rapid inspirals of equal-mass binaries, we find that gravitational torques become weaker at lower mass ratios and most binaries with 0.01 ≤ q ≤ 0.04 outspiral, which may delay the coalescence of black hole binaries formed from minor mergers and cause high-mass exoplanets to migrate outward. However, in a number of cases, the disks accreting onto binaries with mass ratios ~0.07 fail to develop eccentric modes, leading to extremely rapid inspirals. Variability in black hole accretion correlates with disk eccentricity, and we observe variability above the ~10% level even for mass ratios of 0.01. We demonstrate that the spatial dependence of the viscosity (e.g., α vs. constant ν) significantly affects the degree of preferential accretion onto the secondary, resolving discrepancies between previous studies. Colder circumbinary disks remain eccentric even at q ~ 0.01 and sustain deep, asymmetric cavities.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Automated detection of double nuclei galaxies using GOTHIC and the discovery of a large sample of dual AGN

We present a novel algorithm to detect double nuclei galaxies (DNG) called Gothic (Graph-bOosTed iterated HIll Climbing) – that detects whether a given image of a galaxy has two or more closely separated nuclei. Our aim is to test for the presence of dual/multiple active galactic nuclei (AGN) in galaxies that visually represent a DNG. Although galaxy mergers are common, the detection of dual AGN is rare. Their detection is very important as they help us understand the formation of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries, SMBH growth and AGN feedback effects in multiple nuclei systems. There is thus a need for an algorithm to do a systematic survey of existing imaging data for the discovery of DNGs and dual AGNs. We have tested Gothic on an established sample of DNGs with a 100 per cent detection rate and subsequently conducted a blind search of 1 million SDSS DR16 galaxies (with spectroscopic data available) lying in the redshift range of z = 0 to 0.75. From the list of candidate DNGs found, we have detected 159 dual AGNs, of which 2 are triple AGN systems. Our results show that dual AGNs are not common, and triple AGN even rarer. The colour (u–r) magnitude plots of the DNGs indicate that star formation is quenched as the nuclei come closer and as the AGN fraction increases. The quenching is especially prominent for dual/triple AGN galaxies that lie at the extreme end of the red sequence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Spikey: self-lensing flares from eccentric SMBH binaries

Here, we examine the light curves of two quasars, motivated by recent suggestions that a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) can exhibit sharp lensing spikes. We model the variability of each light curve as due to a combination of two relativistic effects: the orbital relativistic Doppler boost and gravitational binary self-lensing. In order to model each system, we extend previous Doppler plus self-lensing models to include eccentricity. The first quasar is identified in optical data as a binary candidate with a 20-yr period (Ark 120), and shows a prominent spike. For this source, we rule out the lensing hypothesis and disfavour the Doppler-boost hypothesis due to discrepancies in the measured versus recovered values of the binary mass and optical spectral slope. The second source, which we nickname Spikey, is the rare case of an active galactic nucleus identified in Kepler’s high-quality, high-cadence photometric data. For this source, we find a model, consisting of a combination of Doppler modulation and a narrow symmetric lensing spike, consistent with an eccentric SMBHB with a mass of $M_{\text{tot}} = 3\times 10^{7} {\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }}$, rest-frame orbital period T = 418 d, eccentricity e = 0.5, and seen at an inclination of 8° from edge-on. This interpretation can be tested by monitoring Spikey for periodic behaviour and recurring flares in the next few years. In preparation for such monitoring, we present the first X-ray observations of this object taken by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Magnetically Arrested Circumbinary Accretion Flows

Abstract Binary systems with comparable masses and a surrounding accretion disk can accrete gas through spiral accretion streams penetrating the central cavity formed by tidal interactions. Using three-dimensional Newtonian magnetohydrodynamics simulations, we investigate the possibility of a magnetically arrested accretion flow through the cavity. Rather than solely continuously feeding the binary through spiral accretion streams, the accretion is regulated by the strong magnetic field inside the cavity. Transport of mass and angular momentum onto the binary then proceeds largely periodically in magnetic flux eruption episodes. The ejected flux tubes carry angular momentum outward and away from the binary, inject hot plasma into the disk, and can launch flares. This likely intermittent scenario could have potential implications for the emission signatures of supermassive black hole binaries and shed light onto the role magnetic fields play in the binary’s orbital evolution.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2025

SMBH binary candidate PKS J2134−0153: possible multi-band periodic variability and inter-band time lags

ABSTRACT Studying the periodic flux-variation behaviour of blazars is vital for probing supermassive black hole binaries and the kinematics of relativistic jets. In this work, we report the detection of multi-band possible periodic variations of the blazar PKS J2134−0153, including infrared ($1.6(\pm 0.4)\times 10^3$ day) and optical ($1.8(\pm 1)\times 10^3$ day) wavelengths. The periods in the infrared and optical bands are statistically consistent with the period in the radio band ($P_{\mathrm{Radio}} = 1760\pm 33$ days, obtained from our previous work). Moreover, flux variations in different bands are correlated with evident inter-band time delays, and the time lags of infrared and optical emission with respect to radio emission are $(3.3\pm 2.3)\times 10^{2}$ days and $(3.0\pm 2.3)\times 10^{2}$ days, respectively. The cross-correlations indicate a common origin of radio, infrared, and optical emission. The relative positions between emission regions of infrared and optical emission and radio emission are estimated according to the time lags, i.e. $0.37\pm 0.26$ and $0.33\pm 0.26$ pc. The relative distances seem to be quantitatively consistent with the theoretical prediction.

Ren, Guo-Wei (ORCID:0000000214978371)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stratified wind from a super-Eddington X-ray binary is slower than expected

Accretion disks in strong gravity ubiquitously produce winds, seen as blueshifted absorption lines in the X-ray band of both stellar mass X-ray binaries (black holes and neutron stars) and supermassive black holes. Some of the most powerful winds (termed Eddington winds) are expected to arise from systems in which radiation pressure is sufficient to unbind material from the inner disk (L ≳ L Edd ). These winds should be extremely fast and carry a large amount of kinetic power, which, when associated with supermassive black holes, would make them a prime contender for the feedback mechanism linking the growth of those black holes with their host galaxies. Here we show the XRISM Resolve spectrum of the galactic neutron star X-ray binary, GX 13+1, which reveals one of the densest winds ever seen in absorption lines. This Compton-thick wind significantly attenuates the flux, making it appear faint, although it is intrinsically more luminous than usual (L ≳ L Edd ). However, the wind is extremely slow, more consistent with the predictions of thermal-radiative winds launched by X-ray irradiation of the outer disk than with the expected Eddington wind driven by radiation pressure from the inner disk. This puts new constraints on the origin of winds from bright accretion flows in binaries, but also highlights the very different origin required for the ultrafast (v ~ 0.3c) winds seen in recent Resolve observations of a supermassive black hole at a similarly high Eddington ratio.

Audard, Marc [Univ. of Geneva, Versoix (Switzerlan↗
DOE OSTI2022

The SPAN512 mid-latitude pulsar survey at the Nançay Radio Telescope

The large number of ongoing surveys for pulsars and transients at various radio observatories is motivated by the science obtained from these sources. Timing and polarisation analysis of relativistic binaries can place strong constraints on theories of gravity. The observation of a growing number of millisecond pulsars (MSPs) spread over the celestial sphere may allow the detection of a stochastic gravitational wave background arising from supermassive black hole binaries. A more complete sample of young pulsars improves our knowledge of neutron star birth and evolution. Transients such as fast radio bursts can serve to probe the intergalactic medium. The SPAN512 pulsar survey covers intermediate Galactic latitudes using the L-band receiver of the Nançay Radio Telescope (NRT). The survey covers 224 sq. deg. of the sky for a total exposure time of 2200 h. Population syntheses predict the discovery of 3 to 19 new normal pulsars and a few MSPs. We present detailed modelling of the NRT beam with its L-band receiver and its sensitivity which we used to precisely assess the expected survey yield. We used the flexible Pulsar Arecibo L-band Feed Array data processing pipeline to search the 47 TB of SPAN512 data for pulsars and transients. The SPAN512 survey discovered two new MSPs and one new middle-aged pulsar. We focus on the analysis of the 2.4-ms spin period pulsar J2205+6012 for which we also report the detection of gamma-ray pulsations. Its narrow pulse width (35µs at an observing frequency of 2.55 GHz) allows for sub-microsecond timing precision over 8 yr, with exciting prospects for pulsar timing array programs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Periodicity significance testing with null-signal templates: reassessment of PTF’s SMBH binary candidates

Periodograms are widely employed for identifying periodicity in time series data, yet they often struggle to accurately quantify the statistical significance of detected periodic signals when the data complexity precludes reliable simulations. We develop a data-driven approach to address this challenge by introducing a null-signal template (NST). The NST is created by carefully randomizing the period of each cycle in the periodogram template, rendering it non-periodic. It has the same frequentist properties as a periodic signal template, and we show with simulations that the distribution of false positives is the same as with the original periodic template, regardless of the underlying data. Thus, performing a periodicity search with the NST acts as an effective simulation of the null (no-signal) hypothesis, without having to simulate the noise properties of the data. We apply the NST method to the supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHB) search in the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF), where Charisi et al. had previously proposed 33 high signal-to-noise candidates utilizing simulations to quantify their significance. Our approach reveals that these simulations do not capture the complexity of the real data. There are no statistically significant periodic signal detections above the non-periodic background. To improve the search sensitivity, we introduce a Gaussian quadrature based algorithm for the Bayes Factor with correlated noise as a test statistic. We show with simulations that this improves sensitivity to true signals by more than an order of magnitude. However, the Bayes Factor approach also results in no statistically significant detections in the PTF data.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A gamma-ray pulsar timing array constrains the nanohertz gravitational wave background

We report after large galaxies merge, their central supermassive black holes are expected to form binary systems. Their orbital motion should generate a gravitational wave background (GWB) at nanohertz frequencies. Searches for this background use pulsar timing arrays, which perform long-term monitoring of millisecond pulsars at radio wavelengths. We used 12.5 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope data to form a gamma-ray pulsar timing array. Results from 35 bright gamma-ray pulsars place a 95% credible limit on the GWB characteristic strain of 1.0 × 10 -14 at a frequency of 1 year –1 . The sensitivity is expected to scale with t obs , the observing time span, as t$^{-13/6}_{obs}$. This direct measurement provides an independent probe of the GWB while offering a check on radio noise models.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Runaway Eccentricity Growth: A Pathway for Binary Black Hole Mergers in AGN Disks

Binary black holes (BBHs) embedded within the accretion disks that fuel active galactic nuclei (AGN) are promising progenitors for the source of gravitational wave (GW) events detected by LIGO/VIRGO. Several recent studies have shown that when these binaries form, they are likely to be highly eccentric and retrograde. However, many uncertainties remain concerning the orbital evolution of these binaries as they either inspiral toward merger or disassociate. Previous hydrodynamical simulations exploring their orbital evolution have been predominantly two-dimensional or have been restricted to binaries on nearly circular orbits. We present the first high-resolution, three-dimensional local shearing-box simulations of both prograde and retrograde eccentric BBHs embedded in AGN disks. We find that retrograde binaries shrink several times faster than their prograde counterparts and exhibit significant orbital eccentricity growth, the rate of which monotonically increases with binary eccentricity. Our results suggest that retrograde binaries may experience runaway orbital eccentricity growth, which may bring them close enough together at pericenter for GW emission to drive them to coalescence. Although their eccentricity is damped, prograde binaries shrink much faster than their orbital eccentricity decays, suggesting they should remain modestly eccentric as they contract toward merger. Finally, binary precession driven by the AGN disk may dominate over precession induced by the supermassive black hole depending on the binary accretion rate and its location in the AGN disk, which can subdue the evection resonance and von Ziepel–Lidov–Kozai cycles.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer mission concept

The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer (AMEGO-X) is designed to identify and characterize gamma rays from extreme explosions and accelerators. The main science themes include supermassive black holes and their connections to neutrinos and cosmic rays; binary neutron star mergers and the relativistic jets they produce; cosmic ray particle acceleration sources including galactic supernovae; continuous monitoring of other astrophysical events and sources over the full sky in this important energy range. AMEGO-X will probe the medium energy gamma-ray band using a single instrument with sensitivity up to an order of magnitude greater than previous telescopes in the energy range 100 keV to 1 GeV that can be only realized in space. Finally, during its 3-year baseline mission, AMEGO-X will observe nearly the entire sky every two orbits, building up a sensitive all-sky map of gamma-ray sources and emissions. AMEGO-X was submitted in the recent 2021 NASA MIDEX announcement of opportunity.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer (AMEGO-X) Mission Concept

The All-sky Medium Energy Gamma-ray Observatory eXplorer (AMEGO-X) is designed to identify and characterize gamma rays from extreme explosions and accelerators. The main science themes include: supermassive black holes and their connections to neutrinos and cosmic rays; binary neutron star mergers and the relativistic jets they produce; cosmic ray particle acceleration sources including Galactic supernovae; and continuous monitoring of other astrophysical events and sources over the full sky in this important energy range. AMEGO-X will probe the medium energy gamma-ray band using a single instrument with sensitivity up to an order of magnitude greater than previous telescopes in the energy range 100 keV to 1 GeV that can be only realized in space. During its three-year baseline mission, AMEGO-X will observe nearly the entire sky every two orbits, building up a sensitive all-sky map of gamma-ray sources and emission. AMEGO-X was submitted in the recent 2021 NASA MIDEX Announcement of Opportunity.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Long-term Evolution of Tightly Packed Stellar Black Holes in AGN Disks: Formation of Merging Black Hole Binaries via Close Encounters

We study the long-term evolution of two or more stellar black holes (BHs) on initially separated but unstable circular orbits around a supermassive BH (SMBH). Such a close-packed orbital configuration can naturally arise from BH migrations in the AGN disk. Dynamical instability of the orbits leads to recurring close encounters between two BHs, during which the BH separation r p becomes less than the Hill radius R H . In rare very close encounters, a tight merging BH binary can form with the help of gravitational wave emission. We use N-body simulations to study the time evolution of close encounters of various degrees of closeness. For a typical "SMBH+2BH" system, the averaged cumulative number of close encounters (with r p ≲ R H ) scales approximately as ∝ t 0.5 . The minimum encounter separation r p follows a cumulative distribution P( p ) ∝ r p for r p « R H . We obtain a semi-analytical expression for the averaged rate of binary captures that lead to BH mergers. Our results suggest that close-packed BHs in AGN disks may take a long time (≳10 7 orbits around the SMBH) to experience a sufficiently close encounter and form a bound binary. This time can be shorter if the initial BH orbits are highly aligned. The BH binary mergers produced in this scenario have high eccentricities when entering the LIGO band and broad distribution of orbital inclinations relative to the original AGN disk. We explore the effects of the gas disk and find that simple gas drags on the BHs do not necessarily lead to an enhanced BH binary capture rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Exploring dark forces with multimessenger studies of extreme mass ratio inspirals

Abstract The exploration of dark sector interactions via gravitational waves (GWs) from binary inspirals has been a subject of recent interest. We study dark forces using extreme mass ratio inspirals (EMRIs), pointing out two issues of interest. Firstly, the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) of the EMRI, which sets the characteristic length scale of the system and hence the dark force range to which it exhibits enhanced sensitivity, probes force mediator masses that complement those studied with supermassive black hole (SMBH) or neutron star binaries. The LISA mission (the proposedμAres detector) will probe mediators with massesm V ∼ 10 -16 eV (m V ∼ 10 -18 eV), corresponding to ISCOs of 10 6 M ⊙ (10 8 M ⊙ ) central SMBHs. Secondly, while the sensitivity to dark couplings is typically limited by the uncertainty in the binary component masses, independent mass measurements of the central SMBH through reverberation mapping campaigns or the motion of dynamical tracers enable one to break this degeneracy. Our results therefore highlight the necessity for coordinated studies, loosely referred to as “multimessenger”, between futureμHz- mHz GW observatories and ongoing and forthcoming SMBH mass measurement campaigns, including OzDES-RM, SDSS-RM, and SDSS-V Black Hole Mapper.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Probing the Origin of Changing-look Quasar Transitions with Chandra

Extremely variable quasars can also show strong changes in broad-line emission strength and are known as changing-look quasars (CLQs). To study the CLQ transition mechanism, we present a pilot sample of CLQs with X-ray observations in both the bright and faint states. From a sample of quasars with bright-state archival SDSS spectra and (Chandra or XMM-Newton) X-ray data, we identified five new CLQs via optical spectroscopic follow-up and then obtained new target-of-opportunity X-ray observations with Chandra. No strong absorption is detected in either the bright- or the faint-state X-ray spectra. The intrinsic X-ray flux generally changes along with the optical variability, and the X-ray power-law slope becomes harder in the faint state. Large-amplitude mid-infrared variability is detected in all five CLQs, and it echoes the variability in the optical with a time lag expected from the light-crossing time of the dusty torus for CLQs with robust lag measurements. The changing-obscuration model is not consistent with the observed X-ray spectra and spectral energy distribution changes seen in these CLQs. It is highly likely that the observed changes are due to the changing accretion rate of the supermassive black hole, so the multiwavelength emission varies accordingly, with promising analogies to the accretion states of X-ray binaries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Confrontation of Observation and Theory: High-frequency QPOs in X-Ray Binaries, Tidal Disruption Events, and Active Galactic Nuclei

In this paper, we compile observations of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) around black holes, both stellar and supermassive, and compare their positions in the parameter space of black hole mass, spin, and oscillation frequency. We find that supermassive black holes occupy a separate region of parameter space than stellar, and further, that QPOs seen around tidal disruption events rather than Seyfert-type active galactic nuclei (AGN) occupy an entirely different space. We then compare these results to the orbital resonance, diskoseismic, warped disk, and disk–jet coupling theoretical models for the origin of high-frequency QPOs. We find that while oscillations around stellar mass black holes are generally consistent with the above models, supermassive black holes are decidedly not. Oscillations seen in tidal disruption events are consistent with oscillations near the frequency of the innermost stable circular orbit, while QPOs in AGN are not accounted for by any of the physical models in consideration. This indicates that despite the scale invariance of accretion processes implied by a decades-wide correlation between QPO frequency and black hole mass, any theory of high-frequency QPOs must relate the frequency to more than just the mass and spin.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗