Year: 2015
Type: article
Abstract: The census of binary active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is important in order to understand the merging history of galaxies and the triggering of AGNs. However, there is still no efficient method for selecting the candidates of binary AGNs. The non-synchronous variations of the two AGNs in one binary system will induce the shift of the image centroid. Since the astrometric error is normally much smaller than the angular resolution of telescopes, it is possible to detect such shifts even in the unresolved system via multi-epoch observations. We perform some simulations and find that hundreds of observations are required to discover compact binary AGNs. This method is suitable for the future large-scale surveys, e.g., the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, and it might lead to a large sample of binary AGNs with a 1–2 yr survey.
Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Author: Yuan Liu
Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of High Energy Physics
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: 活动星系核尘埃环的形成与演化, 恒星级致密天体物理研究
OpenAlex ID: W1845845041