Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287
Successful observations of the seven predicted bremsstrahlung flares from the unique bright blazar OJ 287 firmly point to the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary central engine. We present arguments for the continued monitoring of the source...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Galaxies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/10/1/1 |
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| author | Mauri J. Valtonen Lankeswar Dey Achamveedu Gopakumar Staszek Zola S. Komossa Tapio Pursimo Jose L. Gomez Rene Hudec Helen Jermak Andrei V. Berdyugin |
| author_facet | Mauri J. Valtonen Lankeswar Dey Achamveedu Gopakumar Staszek Zola S. Komossa Tapio Pursimo Jose L. Gomez Rene Hudec Helen Jermak Andrei V. Berdyugin |
| author_sort | Mauri J. Valtonen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Successful observations of the seven predicted bremsstrahlung flares from the unique bright blazar OJ 287 firmly point to the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary central engine. We present arguments for the continued monitoring of the source in several electromagnetic windows to firmly establish various details of the SMBH binary central engine description for OJ 287. In this article, we explore what more can be known about this system, particularly with regard to accretion and outflows from its two accretion disks. We mainly concentrate on the expected impact of the secondary black hole on the disk of the primary on 3 December 2021 and the resulting electromagnetic signals in the following years. We also predict the times of exceptional fades, and outline their usefulness in the study of the host galaxy. A spectral survey has been carried out, and spectral lines from the secondary were searched for but were not found. The jet of the secondary has been studied and proposals to discover it in future VLBI observations are mentioned. In conclusion, the binary black hole model explains a large number of observations of different kinds in OJ 287. Carefully timed future observations will be able to provide further details of its central engine. Such multi-wavelength and multidisciplinary efforts will be required to pursue multi-messenger nanohertz GW astronomy with OJ 287 in the coming decades. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:46:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af5f9125ad2e4889900303ec9331f2d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4434 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:46:19Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Galaxies |
| spelling | doaj.art-af5f9125ad2e4889900303ec9331f2d62022-12-22T03:13:31ZengMDPI AGGalaxies2075-44342021-12-01101110.3390/galaxies10010001Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287Mauri J. Valtonen0Lankeswar Dey1Achamveedu Gopakumar2Staszek Zola3S. Komossa4Tapio Pursimo5Jose L. Gomez6Rene Hudec7Helen Jermak8Andrei V. Berdyugin9Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, FinlandDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005, IndiaDepartment of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400005, IndiaAstronomical Observatory, Jagiellonian University, ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Krakow, PolandMax-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, 53121 Bonn, GermanyNordic Optical Telescope, Apartado 474, 38700 Santa Cruz de La Palma, SpainInstituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia—CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomia s/n, 18008 Granada, SpainFaculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Technicka 1902/2, 16627 Praha, Czech RepublicAstrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 5RF, UKTuorla Observatory, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, FinlandSuccessful observations of the seven predicted bremsstrahlung flares from the unique bright blazar OJ 287 firmly point to the presence of a nanohertz gravitational wave (GW) emitting supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary central engine. We present arguments for the continued monitoring of the source in several electromagnetic windows to firmly establish various details of the SMBH binary central engine description for OJ 287. In this article, we explore what more can be known about this system, particularly with regard to accretion and outflows from its two accretion disks. We mainly concentrate on the expected impact of the secondary black hole on the disk of the primary on 3 December 2021 and the resulting electromagnetic signals in the following years. We also predict the times of exceptional fades, and outline their usefulness in the study of the host galaxy. A spectral survey has been carried out, and spectral lines from the secondary were searched for but were not found. The jet of the secondary has been studied and proposals to discover it in future VLBI observations are mentioned. In conclusion, the binary black hole model explains a large number of observations of different kinds in OJ 287. Carefully timed future observations will be able to provide further details of its central engine. Such multi-wavelength and multidisciplinary efforts will be required to pursue multi-messenger nanohertz GW astronomy with OJ 287 in the coming decades.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/10/1/1BL lacertae objectsOJ 287supermassive black holesaccretion discsgravitational wavesjets |
| spellingShingle | Mauri J. Valtonen Lankeswar Dey Achamveedu Gopakumar Staszek Zola S. Komossa Tapio Pursimo Jose L. Gomez Rene Hudec Helen Jermak Andrei V. Berdyugin Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 Galaxies BL lacertae objects OJ 287 supermassive black holes accretion discs gravitational waves jets |
| title | Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 |
| title_full | Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 |
| title_fullStr | Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 |
| title_short | Promise of Persistent Multi-Messenger Astronomy with the Blazar OJ 287 |
| title_sort | promise of persistent multi messenger astronomy with the blazar oj 287 |
| topic | BL lacertae objects OJ 287 supermassive black holes accretion discs gravitational waves jets |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/10/1/1 |
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