Sub-parsec supermassive Binary Quasars: expectations at z<1

TL;DR

This paper models the expected number and properties of sub-parsec supermassive binary quasars, predicting their rarity at low redshift and increasing abundance at higher redshifts, based on hierarchical galaxy evolution theories.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed theoretical predictions for the observability and expected counts of sub-parsec binary quasars across different redshifts and flux levels.

Findings

Sub-parsec binary quasars are intrinsically rare at z<0.7.

Predicted ~10 such binaries in a complete sample of 10,000 sources.

Number of binaries increases rapidly with redshift.

Abstract

We investigate the theoretical expectations for detections of supermassive binary black holes that can be identified as sub-parsec luminous quasars. To-date, only two candidates have been selected in a sample comprising 17,500 sources selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog at z<0.70 (Boroson & Lauer 2009) In this Letter, we use models of assembly and growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in hierarchical cosmologies to study the statistics and observability of binary quasars at sub-parsec separations. Our goal is twofold: (1) test if such a scarce number of binaries is consistent with theoretical prediction of SMBH merger rates, and (2) provide additional predictions at higher redshifts, and at lower flux levels. We determine the cumulative number of expected binaries in a complete, volume limited sample. Motivated by Boroson & Lauer (2009), we apply the SDSS Quasar luminosity cut (M_i<-22) to our theoretical sample, deriving an upper limit to the observable binary fraction. We find that sub-parsec quasar binaries are intrinsically rare. Our best models predict ~0.01 deg^-2 sub-parsec binary quasars with separations below ~10^4 Schwarzschild radii (v_orb>2000 km/s) at z<0.7, which represent a fraction ~6x10^-4 of unabsorbed quasars in our theoretical sample. In a complete sample of ~10,000 sources, we therefore predict an upper limit of ~10 sub-parsec binary quasars. The number of binaries increases rapidly with increasing redshift. The decreasing lifetime with SMBH binary mass suggests that lowering the luminosity threshold does not lead to a significant increase in the number of detectable sub-parsec binary quasars.