Hiroshi Sudou

Orbital Motion in the Radio Galaxy 3C 66B: Evidence for a Supermassive Black Hole Binary

Supermassive black hole binaries may exist in the centers of active galactic nuclei such as quasars and radio galaxies, and mergers between galaxies may result in the formation of supermassive binaries during the course of galactic evolution. Using the very-long-baseline interferometer, we imaged the radio galaxy 3C 66B at radio frequencies and found that the unresolved radio core of 3C 66B shows well-defined elliptical motions with a period of 1.05 ± 0.03 years, which provides a direct detection of a supermassive black hole binary.

Binary Black Hole Accretion Flows in Merged Galactic Nuclei

We study the accretion flows from the circumbinary disks onto the supermassive binary black holes in a subparsec scale of the galactic center, using a smoothed particles hydrodynamics (SPH) code. Simulation models are presented in four cases of a circular binary with equal and unequal masses, and of an eccentric binary with equal and unequal masses. We find that the circumblack-hole disks are formed around each black holes regardless of simulation parameters. There are two-step mechanisms to cause an accretion flow from the circumbinary disk onto supermassive binary black holes: First, the tidally induced elongation of the circumbinary disk triggers mass inflow towards two closest points on the circumbinary disk from the black holes. Then, the gas is increasingly accumulated on these two points owing to the gravitational attraction of black holes. Second, when the gas can pass across the maximum loci of the effective binary potential, it starts to overflow via their two points and freely infalls to each black hole. In circular binaries, the gas continues to be supplied from the circumbinary disk (i.e. the gap between the circumbinary disk and the binary black hole is always closed.) In eccentric binaries, the mass supply undergoes the periodic on/off transitions during one orbital period because of the variation of periodic potential. The gap starts to close after the apastron and to open again after the next periastron passage. Due to this gap closing/opening cycles, the mass-capture rates are eventually strongly phase dependent. This could provide observable diagnosis for the presence of supermassive binary black holes in merged galactic nuclei.

Verification of the effectiveness of VSOP-2 phase referencing with a newly developed simulation tool, ARIS

The next-generation space VLBI mission, VSOP-2, is expected to provide unprecedented spatial resolutions at 8.4, 22, and 43GHz. In this report, phase referencing with VSOP-2 is examined in detail based on a simulation tool called ARIS. The criterion for successful phase referencing was to keep the phase errors below one radian. Simulations with ARIS reveal that phase referencing achieves good performance at 8.4GHz, even under poor tropospheric conditions. At 22 and 43GHz, it is recommended to conduct phase referencing observations under good or typical tropospheric conditions. The satellite is required to have an attitude-switching capability with a one-minute or shorter cycle, and an orbit determination accuracy higher than about 10cm at apogee; the phase referencing calibrators are required to have a signal-to-noise ratio larger than four for a single scan. The probability to find a suitable phase referencing calibrator was estimated by using VLBI surveys. From the viewpoint of calibrator availability, VSOP-2 phase referencing at 8.4GHz is promising. However, the change of finding suitable calibrators at 22 and 43GHz is significantly reduced; it is important to conduct specific investigations for each target at those frequencies.

Japanese VLBI Network Observations of Radio-Loud Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies

We performed phase-reference very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations on five radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) at 8.4 GHz with the Japanese VLBI Network. Each of the five targets (RXS J08066+7248, RXS J16290+4007, RXS J16333+4718, RXS J16446+2619, and B3 1702+457) in milli-Jansky levels were detected and unresolved in milli-arcsecond resolutions, i.e., with brightness temperatures higher than 10 7 K. The nonthermal processes of active galactic nucleus activity, rather than starbursts, are predominantly responsible for the radio emissions from these NLS1s. Out of the nine known radio-loud NLS1s, including those chosen for this study, we found that the four most radio-loud objects exclusively have inverted spectra. This suggests a possibility that these NLS1s are radio-loud due to Doppler beaming, which can apparently enhance both the radio power and the spectral frequency.

A VERY CLOSE BINARY BLACK HOLE IN A GIANT ELLIPTICAL GALAXY 3C 66B AND ITS BLACK HOLE MERGER

Recent observational results provide possible evidence that binary black holes (BBHs) exist in the center of giant galaxies and may merge to form a supermassive black hole in the process of their evolution. We first detected a periodic flux variation on a cycle of 93 ± 1 days from the 3 mm monitor observations of a giant elliptical galaxy 3C 66B for which an orbital motion with a period of 1.05 ± 0.03 yr had been already observed. The detected signal period being shorter than the orbital period can be explained by taking into consideration the Doppler-shifted modulation due to the orbital motion of a BBH. Assuming that the BBH has a circular orbit and that the jet axis is parallel to the binary angular momentum, our observational results demonstrate the presence of a very close BBH that has a binary orbit with an orbital period of 1.05 ± 0.03 yr, an orbital radius of (3.9 ± 1.0) × 10–3 pc, an orbital separation of (6.1+1.0 –0.9) × 10–3 pc, a larger black hole mass of (1.2+0.5 –0.2) × 109 M ☉, and a smaller black hole mass of (7.0+4.7 –6.4) × 108 M ☉. The BBH decay time of (5.1+60.5 –2.5) × 102 yr provides evidence for the occurrence of black hole mergers. This Letter will demonstrate the interesting possibility of black hole collisions to form a supermassive black hole in the process of evolution, one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the universe.

Bigradient Phase Referencing

We propose bigradient phase referencing (BPR), a new radio-observation technique, and report on its performance using the Japanese very-long-baseline-interferometry network (JVN). In this method, a weak source is detected by phase-referencing using a primary calibrator, in order to play a role as a secondary calibrator for phasereferencing to a weak target. We will be given the opportunity to select a calibrator from lots of milli-Jansky sources, one of which may be located at a position closer to the target. With such a smaller separation, high-quality phase-referencing can be achieved. A subsequent more-sophisticated calibration can relocate the array’s focus to a hypothetical point much closer to the target; a higher quality of phase referencing is available. Our demonstrative observations with strong radio sources have proved the capabilities of the BPR in terms of the image dynamic ranges and astrometric reproducibility. The image dynamic range on a target has been improved by a factor of about six compared to that of normal phase-referencing; the resultant position difference of the target’s emission between two epochs was only 62 ±50 microarcsecond, even with less than 2300-km baselines at 8.4GHz and fast-switching between a target–calibrator pair separated by a 2. ◦ 1.

Sub-Parsec-Scale Acceleration of the Radio Jet in the Powerful Radio Galaxy NGC 6251

In order to investigate the genesis of a powerful radio jet, we have mapped the central 10 pc region of the nearby radio galaxy, NGC 6251, with a 0.2 pc resolution using Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) at two radio frequencies, 5 GHz and 15 GHz. We have found the sub-parsec-scale counterjet for the first time in this radio galaxy. This discovery allows us to investigate the jet acceleration based on the relativistic beaming model.

VLBI Detections of Parsec-Scale Nonthermal Jets in Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line Quasars

We conducted radio detection observations at 8.4 GHz for 22 radio-loud broad absorption line (BAL) quasars, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Third Data Release, by a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique. The VLBI instrument we used was developed by the Optically ConnecTed Array for VLBI Exploration project (OCTAVE), which is operated as a subarray of the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN). We aimed at selecting BAL quasars with nonthermal jets suitable for measuring their orientation angles and ages by subsequent detailed VLBI imaging studies to evaluate two controversial issues of whether BAL quasars are viewed nearly edge-on, and of whether BAL quasars are in a short-lived evolutionary phase of quasar population. We detected 20 out of 22 sources using the OCTAVE baselines, implying brightness temperatures greater than 10^5 K, which presumably come from nonthermal jets. Hence, BAL outflows and nonthermal jets can be generated simultaneously in these central engines. We also found four inverted-spectrum sources, which are interpreted as Doppler-beamed, pole-on-viewed relativistic jet sources or young radio sources: single edge-on geometry cannot describe all BAL quasars. We discuss the implications of the OCTAVE observations for investigations for the orientation and evolutionary stage of BAL quasars.

Multi-epoch VLBA observations of 3C 66A

We present the results of six-epoch Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of 3C 66A. The high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) maps obtained at multi-frequency (2.3, 8.4, and 22.2 GHz) simultaneously enabled us to identify the brightest compact component with the core. We find that the spectrum of the core can be reasonably fitted by the synchrotron self-absorption model. Our VLBA maps show that the jet of 3C 66A has two bendings at about 1.2 and 4 mas from the core. We also give possible identifications of our jet components with the components in previous VLBA observations by analysing their proper motions. We find consistent differences of the position from the core in one component between different frequencies at six epochs.

A Shock-induced Pair of Superbubbles in the High-Redshift Powerful Radio Galaxy MRC 0406–244

We present new optical spectroscopy of the high-redshift powerful radio galaxy MRC 0406-244 at redshift of 2.429. We find that the two extensions toward the northwest and southeast probed in the rest-frame ultraviolet image are heated mainly by the nonthermal continuum of the active galactic nucleus. However, each extension shows a shell-like morphology, suggesting that they are a pair of superbubbles induced by the superwind activity rather than by the interaction between the radio jet and the ambient gas clouds. If this is the case, the intense starburst responsible for the formation of superbubbles could occur ~1 × 109 yr ago. On the other hand, the age of the radio jets may be on the order of ~106 yr, being much shorter than the starburst age. Therefore, the two events, i.e., the starburst and the radio jet activities, are independent phenomena. However, their directions of the expanding motions could be governed by the rotational motion of the gaseous component in the host galaxy. This idea appears to explain the alignment effect of MRC 0406-244.