A Search for Binary Active Galactic Nuclei: Double-Peaked [OIII] AGN in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

TL;DR

This study searches for binary active galactic nuclei by analyzing double-peaked [OIII] emission lines in SDSS quasars, finding that such features are more common in radio-detected sources and may indicate smaller separation binaries.

Contribution

It introduces a large visual survey of SDSS quasars to identify double-peaked [OIII] profiles as potential binary AGN candidates, highlighting the role of radio jets and interaction signs.

Findings

148 spectra with double-peaked [OIII] profiles identified

Radio-detected quasars are three times more likely to show double peaks

0.9% of undetected broad line AGN show double peaks

Abstract

We present AGN from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) having double-peaked profiles of [OIII] 5007,4959 and other narrow emission-lines, motivated by the prospect of finding candidate binary AGN. These objects were identified by means of a visual examination of 21,592 quasars at z < 0.7 in SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7). Of the spectra with adequate signal-to-noise, 148 spectra exhibit a double-peaked [OIII] profile. Of these, 86 are Type 1 AGN and 62 are Type 2 AGN. Only two give the appearance of possibly being optically resolved double AGN in the SDSS images, but many show close companions or signs of recent interaction. Radio-detected quasars are three times more likely to exhibit a double-peaked [OIII] profile than quasars with no detected radio flux, suggesting a role for jet interactions in producing the double-peaked profiles. Of the 66 broad line (Type 1) AGN that are undetected in the FIRST survey, 0.9% show double peaked [OIII] profiles. We discuss statistical tests of the nature of the double-peaked objects. Further study is needed to determine which of them are binary AGN rather than disturbed narrow line regions, and how many additional binaries may remain undetected because of insufficient line-of-sight velocity splitting. Previous studies indicate that 0.1% of SDSS quasars are spatially resolved binaries, with typical spacings of ~10 to 100 kpc. If a substantial fraction of the double-peaked objects are indeed binaries, then our results imply that binaries occur more frequently at smaller separations (< 10 kpc). This suggests that simultaneous fueling of both black holes is more common as the binary orbit decays through these spacings.