FOUR DUAL AGN CANDIDATES OBSERVED WITH THE VLBA

Abstract

ABSTRACT According to hierarchical structure formation models, merging galaxies are expected to be seen in different stages of coalescence. However, there are currently no straightforward observational methods to either select or to confirm a large number of dual active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidates. Most attempts involve obtaining a better understanding of double-peaked narrow emission line sources, in order to distinguish the objects for which the emission lines originate from narrow-line kinematics or jet-driven outflows, from those which might harbor dual AGNs. We observed four such candidate sources with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), at 1.5 GHz with a ∼10 mas angular resolution, for which the spectral profiles of AGN optical emission suggested the existence of dual AGNs. In SDSS J210449.13–000919.1 and SDSS J23044.82–093345.3 the radio structures are aligned with the optical emission features, thus the double-peaked emission lines might be the results of jet-driven outflows. In the third detected source SDSS J115523.74+150756.9, the radio structure is less extended and is oriented nearly perpendicular to the position angle derived from optical spectroscopy. The fourth source remained undetected with the VLBA, but it was imaged with the Very Large Array at arcsec resolution a few months before our observations, suggesting the existence of an extended radio structure. We did not detect two radio-emitting cores in any of the four sources, a convincing signature of duality.