Time Evolution of Mg II in SDSS J2320+0024: Implications for a Subparsec Binary Supermassive Black Hole System

TL;DR

This paper investigates the spectral variability of Mg II emission lines in SDSS J2320+0024, supporting the presence of a sub-parsec binary supermassive black hole system with specific dynamical parameters, using spectroscopic data and binary models.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed spectral analysis of Mg II variability in a candidate binary SMBH, supporting the binary interpretation with dynamical modeling and observational evidence.

Findings

Mg II line profile shows complex, variable shape with two peaks.

Spectroscopic data suggest a binary SMBH with masses 2×10^7 and 2×10^8 solar masses.

System has an estimated total mass of ~10^9 solar masses and a subannual orbital period.

Abstract

Here we present results from our spectroscopic follow-up of SDSS J2320+0024, a candidate binary supermassive black hole (SMBH) with a suspected sub-pc separation, identified by a 278-day periodicity observed in its multi-band optical light curves. We investigate the dramatic variability of the complex Mg II emission line profile aiming to test the alignments of the observed photometric light curves and the spectroscopic signatures in the context of the binary SMBH system. We extract the pure broad Mg II line from the newly obtained Gemini and Magellan spectra and measure the emission line parameters to reveal fundamental dynamical parameters of the SMBHs binary system. We adopt the PoSKI sub-pc binary SMBH model, which includes broad-line region (BLR) around less massive component and a circumbinary BLR, to interpret the observed variability in the spectral profile. We find that the Mg II line profile has a distinctive complex shape with the asymmetry and two peaks present which is varying across recent and archival observations. The temporal variability of the Mg II line profile may be associated with the emission from the binary SMBH system consisting of components with masses $M_1 = 2 \times 10^7 \, M_{\odot}$ and $M_2 = 2 \times 10^8 \, M_{\odot}$, and eccentricity e = 0.1. With an total estimated mass of $\sim 10^9 M_{\odot}$ and a subannual orbital period, this system may be a rare example of high-mass compact candidate of SMBH binary, thus important for further investigations of the evolution of the binary system. This study is a prototype of synergies of spectroscopic follow-up and future massive time-domain photometric surveys like Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time.