Recoiling supermassive black hole in changing-look AGN Mrk 1018

TL;DR

This paper investigates the spectral variability of Mrk 1018, proposing that a recoiling supermassive black hole with an eccentric orbit causes observed spectral changes and activity cycles over approximately 29 years.

Contribution

It introduces the recoiling supermassive black hole scenario with orbital modeling to explain spectral and activity variations in Mrk 1018, a changing-look AGN.

Findings

The black hole has a highly eccentric orbit with a period of about 29 years.

Spectral type changes correlate with the black hole's orbital phase and accretion disk perturbations.

AGN activity peaks twice per orbit, aligning with the black hole's pericentric passages.

Abstract

The spectral type of Mrk 1018 changed from Type 1.9 to 1 and returned back to 1.9 over a period of 40 years. We have investigated physical mechanisms responsible for the spectral change in Mrk 1018 by analyzing archival spectral and imaging data. Two kinematically distinct broad-line components, blueshifted and redshifted components, are found from spectral decomposition. The velocity offset curve of the broad-line as a function of time shows a characteristic pattern. An oscillating recoiled supermassive black hole (rSMBH) scenario is proposed to explain the observed velocity offset in broad emission lines. A Bayesian Markov-Chain Monte Carlo simulation is performed to derive the best fit orbital parameters, we find that the rSMBH has a highly eccentric orbit with a period of $\sim$29 years. The AGN activity traced by variation of broad H$\beta$ emission line is found to increase and decrease rapidly at the start and end of the cycle, and peaked twice at the start and near the end of the cycle. Extinction at the start and end of the cycle (when its spectral type is Type 1.9) is found to increase due to increased covering factor. Perturbations of the accretion disk caused by pericentric passage can reasonably explain the AGN activity and spectral change in Mrk 1018. Currently, the spectral type of Mrk 1018 is Type 1.9, and we do not know if it will repeat a similar pattern of spectral change in the future, but if it does, then spectral type will turn to Type 1 around mid 2020's.