Abstract
Some active galactic nuclei are supposed to harbor binary systems of supermassive black holes. They are an attractive target for gravitational wave experiments. The identification of these systems is mostly based on the detection of periodic features in their light curves. Such identifications, however, are far from being conclusive. In this work we study the perturbations in the emission spectrum of the accretion disk of the primary black hole caused by the orbital motion of the secondary. Then we proceed to determine the kind of spectral energy distributions expected at gamma-ray energies from the inverse Compton up-scattering of disk photons by relativistic electrons in a jet. Gamma-ray observations with instruments such as the future Cherenkov Telescope Array may contribute to a definitive identification of supermassive binary black hole systems at high-energies.
Highlights
Binary systems of supermassive black holes are likely the result of the merger of two galaxies, see e.g. [1, 2]
supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are usually identified on the basis of periodic patterns in their optical light curves
Kocsis et al (2012a,b) [8, 9] performed numerical simulations of binary systems of supermassive black holes where the secondary is embedded in the accretion disk of the primary
Summary
Binary systems of supermassive black holes are likely the result of the merger of two galaxies, see e.g. [1, 2]. The outbursts are though to occur every time a secondary black hole in an eccentric orbit crosses the accretion disk that surrounds a much more massive primary. Depending on the masses of the black holes and the orbital separation, the tidal torques induced by the secondary may clear a gap (i.e. a region of very low mass density) in the disk
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