Kinematic signatures of reverberation mapping of close binaries of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. II. Atlas of two-dimensional transfer functions

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive atlas of two-dimensional transfer functions for close binary supermassive black holes, aiding their identification through reverberation mapping in active galactic nuclei.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed atlas of transfer functions for binary SMBHs, enhancing the ability to identify such systems via reverberation mapping data.

Findings

Atlas covers a wide range of orbital and geometrical parameters.

Facilitates more efficient identification of binary SMBHs.

Supports the development of kinematic signatures for detection.

Abstract

Most large galaxies harbor supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in their centers, and galaxies merge. Consequently, binary SMBHs should be common in galactic nuclei. However, close binaries of SMBH (CB-SMBHs) with sub-parsec separation cannot be imaged directly using current facilities. Some indirect signatures, such as periodic signals in light curves and double peaks in emission-line profile, have been used to find CB-SMBH candidates, but ambiguities still exist and no definitive conclusions can be made. We have recently proposed a new method focusing on kinematic signatures that can be derived from reverberation mapping of CB-SMBHs, one that offers a promising avenue to address this important problem. In this paper, we calculated models for a wide range of parameters, but BLRs of two BHs are close but still not merged. The purpose of this supplementary paper is to provide an atlas of two-dimensional transfer functions of CB-SMBHs with a wide range of orbital and geometrical parameters to aid more efficient identification of CB-SMBH candidates in reverberation mapping data.