VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry
Binary and dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are an important observational tool for studying the formation and dynamical evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. An entirely new method for identifying possible AGN pairs makes use of the exquisite positional accuracy of Gaia to detect as...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0ed0 |
| _version_ | 1827368592185753600 |
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| author | Emma Schwartzman Tracy E. Clarke Kristina Nyland Nathan J. Secrest Ryan W. Pfeifle Henrique Schmitt Shobita Satyapal Barry Rothberg |
| author_facet | Emma Schwartzman Tracy E. Clarke Kristina Nyland Nathan J. Secrest Ryan W. Pfeifle Henrique Schmitt Shobita Satyapal Barry Rothberg |
| author_sort | Emma Schwartzman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Binary and dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are an important observational tool for studying the formation and dynamical evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. 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 Sloan Digital Sky Survey 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 ∼44% 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, demonstrating the potential of this method for systematically identifying kiloparsec-scale dual quasars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:33:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57c62c7aa3664bfa9a7949e5998fc42f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T09:33:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-57c62c7aa3664bfa9a7949e5998fc42f2024-01-30T15:10:41ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01961223310.3847/1538-4357/ad0ed0VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio InterferometryEmma Schwartzman0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6454-861XTracy E. Clarke1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6812-7938Kristina Nyland2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1991-370XNathan J. Secrest3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4902-8077Ryan W. Pfeifle4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8640-8522Henrique Schmitt5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2450-3246Shobita Satyapal6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2277-2354Barry Rothberg7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2283-2185U.S. Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA; Department of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University , 4400 University Drive, MSN 3F3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USAU.S. Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USAU.S. Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USAU.S. Naval Observatory , 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20392, USAX-ray Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Code 662, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAU.S. Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University , 4400 University Drive, MSN 3F3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University , 4400 University Drive, MSN 3F3, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA; U.S. Naval Observatory , 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20392, USABinary and dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are an important observational tool for studying the formation and dynamical evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. 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 Sloan Digital Sky Survey 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 ∼44% 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, demonstrating the potential of this method for systematically identifying kiloparsec-scale dual quasars.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0ed0Radio active galactic nucleiRadio astronomyDouble quasars |
| spellingShingle | Emma Schwartzman Tracy E. Clarke Kristina Nyland Nathan J. Secrest Ryan W. Pfeifle Henrique Schmitt Shobita Satyapal Barry Rothberg VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry The Astrophysical Journal Radio active galactic nuclei Radio astronomy Double quasars |
| title | VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry |
| title_full | VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry |
| title_fullStr | VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry |
| title_full_unstemmed | VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry |
| title_short | VaDAR: Varstrometry for Dual AGN Using Radio Interferometry |
| title_sort | vadar varstrometry for dual agn using radio interferometry |
| topic | Radio active galactic nuclei Radio astronomy Double quasars |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad0ed0 |
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