Supermassive Black Hole Binaries Research Articles

Axionic domain walls at Pulsar Timing Arrays: QCD bias and particle friction

The recent results from the Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) collaborations show the first evidence for the detection of a stochastic background of gravitational waves at the nHz frequencies. This discovery has profound implications for the physics of both the late and the early Universe. In fact, together with the interpretation in terms of supermassive black hole binaries, many sources in the early Universe can provide viable explanations as well. In this paper, we study the gravitational wave background sourced by a network of axion-like-particle (ALP) domain walls at temperatures around the QCD crossover, where the QCD-induced potential provides the necessary bias to annihilate the network. Remarkably, this implies a peak amplitude at frequencies around the sensitivity range of PTAs. We extend previous analysis by taking into account the unavoidable friction on the network stemming from the topological coupling of the ALP to QCD in terms of gluon and pion reflection off the domain walls at high and low temperatures, respectively. We identify the regions of parameter space where the network annihilates in the scaling regime ensuring compatibility with the PTA results, as well as those where friction can be important and a more detailed study around the QCD crossover is required.

Anisotropic Star Clusters around Recoiling Supermassive Black Holes

Gravitational-wave recoil kicks from merging supermassive black hole binaries can have a profound effect on the surrounding stellar population. In this work, we study the dynamic and kinematic properties of nuclear star clusters following a recoil kick. We show that these postkick structures present unique signatures that can provide key insight to observational searches for recoiling supermassive black holes. In our previous paper, we showed that an in-plane recoil kick turns a circular disk into a lopsided, eccentric disk such as the one we observe in the Andromeda nucleus. Building on this work, here we explore many recoil kick angles as well as initial stellar configurations. For a circular disk of stars, an in-plane kick causes strong apsidal alignment with a significant fraction of the disk becoming retrograde at large radii. If the initial orbits are highly eccentric, an in-plane kick forms a bar-like structure made up of two antialigned lopsided disks. An out-of-plane kick causes clustering in the argument of periapsis, ω, regardless of the initial eccentricity distribution. Initially, isotropic configurations form anisotropies in the form of a torus of eccentric orbits oriented perpendicular to the recoil kick. Postkick surface density and velocity maps are presented in each case to highlight the distinct, observable structures of these systems.

Implications for the supermassive black hole binaries from the NANOGrav 15-year data set

Implications for the supermassive black hole binaries from the NANOGrav 15-year data set

Does NANOGrav observe a dark sector phase transition?

Gravitational waves from a first-order cosmological phase transition, at temperatures at the MeV-scale, would arguably be the most exciting explanation of the common red spectrum reported by the NANOGrav collaboration, not the least because this would be direct evidence of physics beyond the standard model. Here we perform a detailed analysis of whether such an interpretation is consistent with constraints on the released energy deriving from big bang nucleosynthesis and the cosmic microwave background. We find that a phase transition in a completely secluded dark sector with sub-horizon sized bubbles is strongly disfavoured with respect to the more conventional astrophysical explanation of the putative gravitational wave signal in terms of supermassive black hole binaries. On the other hand, a phase transition in a dark sector that subsequently decays, before the time of neutrino decoupling, remains an intriguing possibility to explain the data. From the model-building perspective, such an option is easily satisfied for couplings with the visible sector that are small enough to evade current collider and astrophysical constraints. The first indication that could eventually corroborate such an interpretation, once the observed common red spectrum is confirmed as a nHz gravitational wave background, could be the spectral tilt of the signal. In fact, the current data already show a very slight preference for a spectrum that is softer than what is expected from the leading astrophysical explanation.

Shock-driven periodic variability in a low-mass-ratio supermassive black hole binary

ABSTRACT We investigate the time-varying electromagnetic emission of a low-mass-ratio supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) embedded in a circumprimary disc, with a particular interest in variability of shocks driven by the binary. We perform a 2D, locally isothermal hydrodynamics simulation of an SMBHB with mass ratio q = 0.01 and separation a = 100 Rg, using a physically self-consistent steady disc model. We estimate the electromagnetic variability from the system by monitoring accretion on to the secondary and using an artificial viscosity scheme to capture shocks and monitor the energy dissipated. The SMBHB produces a wide, eccentric gap in the disc, previously only observed for larger mass ratios, which we attribute to our disc model being much thinner (H/R ≈ 0.01 near the secondary) than is typical of previous works. The eccentric gap drives periodic accretion on to the secondary SMBH on a time-scale matching the orbital period of the binary, $t_{\rm {bin}}\approx 0.1\,\,\rm {yr}$, implying that the variable accretion regime of the SMBHB parameter space extends to lower mass ratios than previously established. Shocks driven by the binary are periodic, with a period matching the orbital period, and the shocks are correlated with the accretion rate, with peaks in the shock luminosity lagging peaks in the accretion rate by 0.43 tbin. We propose that the correlation of these quantities represents a useful identifier of SMBHB candidates, via observations of correlated variability in X-ray and ultraviolet monitoring of active galactic nuclei, rather than single-waveband periodicity alone.

Quasi-simultaneous Optical Flux and Polarization Variability of the Binary Super Massive Black Hole Blazar OJ 287 from 2015 to 2023: Detection of an Anticorrelation in Flux and Polarization Variability

We study the optical flux and polarization variability of the binary black hole blazar OJ 287 using quasi-simultaneous observations from 2015 to 2023 carried out using telescopes in the USA, Japan, Russia, Crimea, and Bulgaria. This is one of the most extensive quasi-simultaneous optical flux and polarization variability studies of OJ 287. OJ 287 showed large amplitude, ∼3.0 mag flux variability, large changes of ∼37% in degree of polarization, and a large swing of ∼215° in the angle of the electric vector of polarization. During the period of observation, several flares in flux were detected. Those flares are correlated with a rapid increase in the degree of polarization and swings in electric vector of polarization angle. A peculiar behavior of anticorrelation between flux and polarization degree, accompanied by a nearly constant polarization angle, was detected from JD 2,458,156 to JD 2,458,292. We briefly discuss some explanations for the flux and polarization variations observed in OJ 287.

Limits on scalar-induced gravitational waves from the stochastic background by pulsar timing array observations

Recently, the NANOGrav, PPTA, EPTA, and CPTA Collaborations independently reported their evidence of the Stochastic Gravitational Waves Background (SGWB). While the inferred gravitational-wave background amplitude and spectrum are consistent with astrophysical expectations for a signal from the population of supermassive black-hole binaries (SMBHBs), the search for new physics remains plausible in this observational window. In this work, we explore the possibility of explaining such a signal by the scalar-induced gravitational waves (IGWs) in the very early universe. We use a parameterized broken power-law function as a general description of the energy spectrum of the SGWB and fit it to the new results of NANOGrav, PPTA and EPTA. We find that this approach can put constraints on the parameters of IGW energy spectrum and further yield restrictions on various inflation models that may produce primordial black holes (PBHs) in the early universe, which is also expected to be examined by the forthcoming space-based GW experiments.

Signatures of a spinning supermassive black hole binary on the mas-scale jet of the quasar S5 1928+738 based on 25 yr of VLBI data

ABSTRACT In a previous work, we have identified the spin of the dominant black hole of a binary from its jet properties. Analysing Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the quasar S5 1928+738, taken at 15-GHz during 43 epochs between 1995.96 and 2013.06, we showed that the inclination angle variation of the inner (<2 mas) jet symmetry axis naturally decomposes into a periodic and a monotonic contribution. The former emerges due to the Keplerian orbital evolution, while the latter is interpreted as the signature of the spin-orbit precession of the jet emitting black hole. In this paper, we revisit the analysis of the quasar S5 1928+738 by including new 15-GHz VLBA observations extending over 29 additional epochs, between 2013.34 and 2020.89. The extended data set confirms our previous findings which are further supported by the flux density variation of the jet. By applying an enhanced jet precession model that can handle arbitrary spin orientations κ with respect to the orbital angular momentum of a binary supermassive black hole system, we estimate the binary mass ratio as ν = 0.21 ± 0.04 for κ = 0 (i.e. when the spin direction is perpendicular to the orbital plane) and as ν = 0.32 ± 0.07 for κ = π/2 (i.e. when the spin lies in the orbital plane). We estimate more precisely the spin precession velocity, halving its uncertainty from $(-0.05\pm 0.02)$ to $(-0.04\pm 0.01)^{\circ }\, \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$.

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Anisotropy in the Gravitational-wave Background

The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has reported evidence for the presence of an isotropic nanohertz gravitational-wave background (GWB) in its 15 yr data set. However, if the GWB is produced by a population of inspiraling supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) systems, then the background is predicted to be anisotropic, depending on the distribution of these systems in the local Universe and the statistical properties of the SMBHB population. In this work, we search for anisotropy in the GWB using multiple methods and bases to describe the distribution of the GWB power on the sky. We do not find significant evidence of anisotropy. By modeling the angular power distribution as a sum over spherical harmonics (where the coefficients are not bound to always generate positive power everywhere), we find that the Bayesian 95% upper limit on the level of dipole anisotropy is (C l=1/C l=0) < 27%. This is similar to the upper limit derived under the constraint of positive power everywhere, indicating that the dipole may be close to the data-informed regime. By contrast, the constraints on anisotropy at higher spherical-harmonic multipoles are strongly prior dominated. We also derive conservative estimates on the anisotropy expected from a random distribution of SMBHB systems using astrophysical simulations conditioned on the isotropic GWB inferred in the 15 yr data set and show that this data set has sufficient sensitivity to probe a large fraction of the predicted level of anisotropy. We end by highlighting the opportunities and challenges in searching for anisotropy in pulsar timing array data.

The second data release from the European Pulsar Timing Array

Aims.The nanohertz gravitational wave background (GWB) is expected to be an aggregate signal of an ensemble of gravitational waves emitted predominantly by a large population of coalescing supermassive black hole binaries in the centres of merging galaxies. Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs), which are ensembles of extremely stable pulsars at approximately kiloparsec distances precisely monitored for decades, are the most precise experiments capable of detecting this background. However, the subtle imprints that the GWB induces on pulsar timing data are obscured by many sources of noise that occur on various timescales. These must be carefully modelled and mitigated to increase the sensitivity to the background signal.Methods.In this paper, we present a novel technique to estimate the optimal number of frequency coefficients for modelling achromatic and chromatic noise, while selecting the preferred set of noise models to use for each pulsar. We also incorporated a new model to fit for scattering variations in the Bayesian pulsar timing package temponest. These customised noise models enable a more robust characterisation of single-pulsar noise. We developed a software package based on tempo2 to create realistic simulations of European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) datasets that allowed us to test the efficacy of our noise modelling algorithms.Results.Using these techniques, we present an in-depth analysis of the noise properties of 25 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) that form the second data release (DR2) of the EPTA and investigate the effect of incorporating low-frequency data from the Indian Pulsar Timing Array collaboration for a common sample of ten MSPs. We used two packages, enterprise and temponest, to estimate our noise models and compare them with those reported using EPTA DR1. We find that, while in some pulsars we can successfully disentangle chromatic from achromatic noise owing to the wider frequency coverage in DR2, in others the noise models evolve in a much more complicated way. We also find evidence of long-term scattering variations in PSR J1600-3053. Through our simulations, we identify intrinsic biases in our current noise analysis techniques and discuss their effect on GWB searches. The analysis and results discussed in this article directly help to improve the sensitivity to the GWB signal and they are already being used as part of global PTA efforts.

NANOGrav signal from a dark conformal phase transition

We explore the possibility that a confining first-order phase transition of a nearly-conformal dark sector generates the reported NANOGrav signal of a stochastic gravitational wave background. The visible Standard Model (SM) sector and the dark sector are initially thermally decoupled so that their temperatures are different. The nearly conformal phase transition is described by the shallow potential of a dilaton (or a radion in the 5D holographic perspective) generated by a new dark Yang-Mills field coupled to the conformal sector. For a dark sector only gravitationally connected with the visible sector, the NANOGrav signal is explained by the phase transition without contradicting the ΔNeff constraint, together with a contribution from supermassive black hole binaries. While the dilaton and dark glueballs can be produced after the phase transition, they immediately decay into dark radiation, which can help ameliorate the Hubble tension and be tested by the future CMB-S4 experiment. Alternatively, for a dark conformal sector decaying into the visible sector after the phase transition, the ΔNeff constraint is not applied and the phase transition can solely explain the NANOGrav signal.

Toward Microarcsecond Astrometry for the Innermost Wobbling Jet of the BL Lacertae Object OJ 287

The BL Lacertae object OJ 287 is a very unusual quasar producing a wobbling radio jet and some double-peaked optical outbursts with a possible period of about 12 yr for more than one century. This variability is widely explained by models of binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs) or precessing jets/disks from a single SMBH. To enable an independent and nearly bias-free investigation on these possible scenarios, we explored the feasibility of extremely high-precision differential astrometry on its innermost restless jet at millimeter wavelengths. Through revisiting some existing radio surveys and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data at frequencies from 1.4 to 15.4 GHz and performing new Very Long Baseline Array observations at 43.2 GHz, we find that the radio source J0854+1959, 7.′1 apart from OJ 287 and with no clearly seen optical and infrared counterparts, could provide a nearly ideal reference point to track the complicated jet activity of OJ 287. The source J0854+1959 has a stable GHz-peaked radio spectrum and shows a jet structure consisting of two discrete, milliarcsecond-scale-compact and steep-spectrum components and showing no proper motion over about 8 yr. The stable VLBI structure can be interpreted by an episodic, optically thin, and one-sided jet. With respect to its 4.1 mJy peak feature at 43.2 GHz, we have achieved an astrometric precision at the state-of-art level, about 10 μas. These results indicate that future VLBI astrometry on OJ 287 could allow us to accurately locate its jet apex and activity boundary, align its restless jet structure over decades without significant systematic bias, and probe various astrophysical scenarios.

Pulsar Timing Array Detections of Supermassive Binary Black Holes: Implications from the Detected Common Process Signal and Beyond

Pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) are anticipated to detect the stochastic gravitational-wave background (GWB) from supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) as well as the gravitational waves from individual BBHs. Recently, a common process signal was reported by several PTAs. In this paper, we investigate the constraints on the BBH population model(s) by current PTA observations and further study the detections of both the GWB and individual BBHs by current and future PTAs. We find that the massive black hole–host galaxy scaling relation, an important ingredient of the BBH population model, is required to either evolve significantly with redshift or have a normalization ∼0.86–1.1 dex higher than the empirical ones if the GWB is the same as the common process signal. For both cases, the estimated detection probability for individual BBHs is too small for a positive detection by current PTAs. By involving either the constrained scaling relations or those empirical ones into the BBH population models, we estimate that the GWB may be detected with a signal-to-noise ratio ≳3 by the China Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope PTA (CPTA) and the Square Kilometre Array PTA (SKAPTA) after ∼2–3 (or ∼6–11) yr observation if it is the same as (or 1 order of magnitude lower than) the common process signal. The detection time of individual BBHs by CPTA and SKAPTA is close to that of the GWB detection. We show that the BBH population model can be strongly constrained by the number and property distributions of BBHs to be detected by future PTAs.

The Enhanced Population of Extreme Mass-ratio Inspirals in the LISA Band from Supermassive Black Hole Binaries

Extreme mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) take place when a stellar-mass black hole (BH) merges with a supermassive BH (SMBH). The gravitational-wave emission from such an event is expected to be detectable by the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) and other millihertz detectors. It was recently suggested that the EMRI rate in SMBH binary systems is orders of magnitude higher than the EMRI rate around a single SMBH with the same total mass. Here we show that this high rate can produce thousands of SMBH–BH sources at a redshift of unity. We predict that LISA may detect a few hundred of these EMRIs with signal-to-noise ratio above S/N ≥8 within a 4 yr mission lifetime. The remaining subthreshold sources will contribute to a large confusion noise, which is approximately an order of magnitude above LISA’s sensitivity level. Finally, we suggest that the individually detectable systems, as well as the background noise from the subthreshold EMRIs, can be used to constrain the SMBH binary fraction in the low-redshift Universe.

Hydrodynamical simulations of circumbinary accretion: balance between heating and cooling

ABSTRACT Hydrodynamical interaction in circumbinary discs (CBDs) plays a crucial role in various astrophysical systems, ranging from young stellar binaries to supermassive black hole binaries in galactic centres. Most previous simulations of binary-disc systems have adopted locally isothermal equation of state. In this study, we use the grid-based code Athena++ to conduct a suite of two-dimensional viscous hydrodynamical simulations of circumbinary accretion on a Cartesian grid, resolving the central cavity of the binary. The gas thermodynamics is treated by thermal relaxation towards an equilibrium temperature (based on the constant − β cooling ansatz, where β is the cooling time in units of the local Keplerian time). Focusing on equal mass, circular binaries in CBDs with (equilibrium) disc aspect ratio H/R = 0.1, we find that the cooling of the disc gas significantly influences the binary orbital evolution, accretion variability, and CBD morphology, and the effect depends sensitively on the disc viscosity prescriptions. When adopting a constant kinematic viscosity, a finite cooling time (β ≳ 0.1) leads to a binary inspiral as opposed to an outspiral and the CBD cavity becomes more symmetric. When adopting a dynamically varying α-viscosity, binary inspiral only occurs within a narrow range of cooling time (corresponding to β around 0.5).

Strongly Lensed Supermassive Black Hole Binaries as Nanohertz Gravitational-wave Sources

Supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHBs) should be the most powerful sources of gravitational waves (GWs) in the universe. Once pulsar timing arrays (PTAs) detect the stochastic GW background from their cosmic merger history, searching for individually resolvable binaries will take on new importance. Since these individual SMBHBs are expected to be rare, here we explore how strong gravitational lensing can act as a tool for increasing their detection prospects by magnifying fainter sources and bringing them into view. Unlike for electromagnetic waves, when the geometric optics limit is nearly always valid, for GWs the wave-diffraction-interference effects can become important when the wavelength of the GWs is larger than the Schwarzchild radius of the lens, i.e., . For the GW frequency range explored in this work, the geometric optics limit holds. We investigate GW signals from SMBHBs that might be detectable with current and future PTAs under the assumption that quasars serve as bright beacons that signal a recent merger. Using the black hole mass function derived from quasars and a physically motivated magnification distribution, we expect to detect a few strongly lensed binary systems out to z ≈ 2. Additionally, for a range of fixed magnifications 2 ≤ μ ≤ 100, strong lensing adds up to ∼30 more detectable binaries for PTAs. Finally, we investigate the possibility of observing both time-delayed electromagnetic signals and GW signals from these strongly lensed binary systems—that will provide us with unprecedented multi-messenger insights into their orbital evolution.

From binary to singular: The AGN PSO J334.2028+1.4075 under the high-resolution scope

Context. PSO J334.2028+1.4075 (PSO J334) is a luminous quasar located at redshift z = 2.06. The source gained attention when periodic flux density variations were discovered in its optical light curve. These variations were initially interpreted as the variability due to the orbital motion of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) residing in a single circumbinary accretion disk. The orbital separation was determined to be 0.006 pc with an in-spiral time of 7 yr in the rest frame of PSO J334. These findings suggested the quasar could be in the gravitational wave emitting phase of its merger and so extended multiwavelength observations were commenced. However, subsequent observations provided evidence against the binary hypothesis as no optical periodicity was found on extended time baselines. On the other hand, detailed radio analysis with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) revealed a lobe-dominated quasar at kiloparsec scales, and possibly a precessing jet, which could retain PSO J334 as a binary SMBH candidate. Aims. We aim to study both the large- and small-scale radio structures in PSO J334 to provide additional evidence for or against the binary scenario. Methods. We observed the source at 1.7 GHz with the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (EVN), and at 1.5 and 6.2 GHz with the VLA, at frequencies that complement the previous radio interferometric study. Results. Our images reveal a single component at parsec scales slightly resolved in the southeast-northwest direction and a lobe-dominated quasar at kiloparsec scales with a complex structure. The source morphology and polarization in our VLA maps suggest that the jet is interacting with dense clumps of the ambient medium. While we also observe a misalignment between the inner jet and the outer lobes, we suggest that this is due to the restarted nature of the radio jet activity and the possible presence of a warped accretion disk rather than due to the perturbing effects of a companion SMBH. Conclusions. Our analysis suggests that PSO J334 is most likely a jetted active galactic nucleus with a single SMBH, and there is no clear evidence of a binary SMBH system in its central engine.

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from the Gravitational-wave Background

The NANOGrav 15 yr data set shows evidence for the presence of a low-frequency gravitational-wave background (GWB). While many physical processes can source such low-frequency gravitational waves, here we analyze the signal as coming from a population of supermassive black hole (SMBH) binaries distributed throughout the Universe. We show that astrophysically motivated models of SMBH binary populations are able to reproduce both the amplitude and shape of the observed low-frequency gravitational-wave spectrum. While multiple model variations are able to reproduce the GWB spectrum at our current measurement precision, our results highlight the importance of accurately modeling binary evolution for producing realistic GWB spectra. Additionally, while reasonable parameters are able to reproduce the 15 yr observations, the implied GWB amplitude necessitates either a large number of parameters to be at the edges of expected values or a small number of parameters to be notably different from standard expectations. While we are not yet able to definitively establish the origin of the inferred GWB signal, the consistency of the signal with astrophysical expectations offers a tantalizing prospect for confirming that SMBH binaries are able to form, reach subparsec separations, and eventually coalesce. As the significance grows over time, higher-order features of the GWB spectrum will definitively determine the nature of the GWB and allow for novel constraints on SMBH populations.

Confirmation of Sgr A* Using the Event Horizon Telescope Data as Extreme Binary of the Supermassive Black Holes Concluded by Decameter Radio Wave Pulse Observations

We analyzed the time variation of the visibilities in the publicly released event horizon telescope (EHT) data provided by the EHT Collaboration, who carried out observations of Sgr A* on April 6 and 7, 2017. The EHT consists of the 1.3 mm wavelength very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) system associated with globally distributed six stations with eight antennas. The analyses were not intended to make image of Sgr A*; instead, we searched for periodic time variations in the observed individual baseline data of the EHT by applying a method to compare with the model visibility, for 1.3 mm VLBI detection that was constructed to reflect the effects of the supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) concluded from the study on the observation of the decameter radio wave pulses from Sgr A*. The SMBHB, orbiting with a period of 2200 ± 50 sec and an orbit size of 4.1×107 km, is observable with an observation angle width of 32.6 μas in a plane nearly parallel to the Galactic equatorial plane. After confirming the possible correspondence between the visibilities of EHT data and constructed model via direct comparison in real-time space, we applied the modified Fourier transformation to confirm the coincidence between observation data and model visibilities. The modified Fourier transformation was uniquely restructured in this paper to eliminate the artificially modulated data sampling time interval by utilizing Fourier transformation of the random noises distributed over time synchronized with data sample timing of the EHT data. We identified significant periodic time variations in the radiation within a range below 70 μas with an orbiting period of 2193.3±27.5 sec that is associated with an eclipse cycle period of 1096.5 sec caused by the SMBHB orbiting motion.

A Quasi-periodic Oscillation of ∼4.6 yr in the Radio Light Curves of Blazar PKS 0607-157

We present periodicity search analyses on long-term radio light curves at 4.8, 8, and 14.5 GHz of blazar PKS 0607–157 observed by the University of Michigan Radio Astronomical Observatory telescope. The highly variable radio emissions are approximately distributed as a log-normal probability distribution function. The Power Spectral Density for the radio light curves can be well characterized by a power-law model. Using the Weighted Wavelet Z-transform and Lomb-Scargle periodogram methods, significant Quasi-periodic Oscillation (QPO) of ∼4.6 yr in the radio light curve has been observed above the 3σ confidence level, which presents an interesting case among blazar QPO phenomena. We explore three plausible physical models to explain the observed QPOs: a supermassive binary black hole system, Lense-Thirring precession of the disk, and helical motion of plasma blobs within the jet.