Final stage of merging binaries of supermassive black holes: observational signatures

TL;DR

This paper explores the observational signatures of merging supermassive black hole binaries at the final stage, focusing on mini-disk behavior, instabilities, and electromagnetic signals across different accretion regimes.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of sound instability in mini-disks and predicts specific electromagnetic signatures for binaries at critical separations.

Findings

Critical separation for sound instability is ~100 Rg.

Periodic radio variations due to Doppler boosting in ADAFs.

Spectral line features depend on accretion rates and disk alignment.

Abstract

There are increasing interests in binary supermassive black holes (SMBHs), but merging binaries with separations smaller than ~1 light days (~10^2 gravitational radii for 10^8 Msun), which are rapidly evolving under control of gravitational waves, are elusive in observations. In this paper, we discuss fates of mini-disks around component SMBHs for three regimes: 1) low rates (advection-dominated accretion flows: ADAFs); 2) intermediate rates; 3) super-Eddington accretion rates. Mini-disks with intermediate rates are undergoing evaporation through thermal conduction of hot corona forming a hybrid radial structure. When the binary orbital periods are shorter than sound propagation timescales of the evaporated mini-disks, a new instability, denoted as sound instability, arises because the disks will be highly twisted so that they are destroyed. We demonstrate a critical separation of A_{crit}~10^2 Rg from the sound instability of the mini-disks and the cavity is full of hot gas. For those binaries, component SMBHs are accreting with Bondi mode in the ADAF regime, showing periodic variations resulting from Doppler boosting effects in radio from the ADAFs due to orbital motion. In the mean while, the circumbinary disks (CBDs) are still not hot enough (ultraviolet deficit) to generate photons to ionize gas for broad emission lines. For slightly super-Eddington accretion of the CBDs, MgII line appears with decreases of UV deficit, and for intermediate super-Eddington Balmer lines appear, but CIV line never unless CBD accretion rates are extremely high. Moreover, if the CBDs are misaligned with the binary plane, it is then expected to have optical periodical variations with about ten times radio periods.