课题组人员报告了x射线吸收的准周期变化，课题组人员将其解释为准周期外向流，来自先前低亮度的活动星系核，可能是由恒星潮汐破坏引起的爆发。
课题组人员排除了几个基于观测性质的模型，取而代之的是广义相对论磁流体动力学模拟。准周期外向流相隔大约8.3天，可以用一个中等质量的次级黑洞来解释，它位于距离主黑洞平均距离约为100引力半径的轻度偏心轨道上。他们的工作表明，准周期外向流可能是一种识别中间/极端质量比双星候选者的新方法。
据悉，双星包含一个围绕超大质量黑洞运行的致密天体，被认为是引力波事件的前兆，但它们的识别一直极具挑战性。
附：英文原文
Title: A case for a binary black hole system revealed via quasi-periodic outflows
Author: Dheeraj R. Pasham, Francesco Tombesi, Petra Suková, Michal Zajaek, Suvendu Rakshit, Eric Coughlin, Peter Kosec, Vladimír Karas, Megan Masterson, Andrew Mummery, Thomas W.-S. Holoien, Muryel Guolo, Jason Hinkle, Bart Ripperda, Vojtěch Witzany, Ben Shappee, Erin Kara, Assaf Horesh, Sjoert van Velzen, Itai Sfaradi, David Kaplan, Noam Burger, Tara Murphy, Ronald Remillard, James F. Steiner, Thomas Wevers, Riccardo Arcodia, Johannes Buchner, Andrea Merloni, Adam Malyali, Andy Fabian, Michael Fausnaugh, Tansu Daylan, Diego Altamirano, Anna Payne, Elizabeth C. Ferraraa
Issue&Volume: 2024-03-27
Abstract: Binaries containing a compact object orbiting a supermassive black hole are thought to be precursors of gravitational wave events, but their identification has been extremely challenging. Here, we report quasi-periodic variability in x-ray absorption, which we interpret as quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts) from a previously low-luminosity active galactic nucleus after an outburst, likely caused by a stellar tidal disruption. We rule out several models based on observed properties and instead show using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that QPOuts, separated by roughly 8.3 days, can be explained with an intermediate-mass black hole secondary on a mildly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about 100 gravitational radii from the primary. Our work suggests that QPOuts could be a new way to identify intermediate/extreme-mass ratio binary candidates.
DOI: adj8898
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj8898