Probing the nature of the massive black hole binary candidate SDSS J1536+0441

Abstract

We present an imaging study of the black hole binary candidate SDSS J1536+0441 (z=0.3893), based on deep, high resolution VzK images collected at the ESO/VLT. The images clearly show an asymmetric elongation, indicating the presence of a companion source at ~1" (~5 kpc projected distance) East from the quasar. The host galaxy of the quasar is marginally resolved. We find that the companion source is a luminous galaxy, the light profile of which suggests the presence of an unresolved, faint nucleus (either an obscured AGN or a compact stellar bulge). The study of the environment around the quasar indicates the occurrence of a significant over-density of galaxies with a redshift compatible with z~0.4. This suggests that it resides in a moderately rich cluster of galaxies.

4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

References in corpus (5)

• A Candidate Sub-Parsec Supermassive Binary Black Hole System
• Spectacular Shells in the Host Galaxy of the QSO MC2 1635+119
• The Quasar SDSS J1536+0441: An Unusual Double-Peaked Emitter
• Discovery of Radio Emission from the Quasar SDSS J1536+0441, a Candidate Binary Black-Hole System
• A photometric study of the field around the candidate recoiling/binary black hole SDSS J092712.65+294344.0

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