PS J1721+8842: A gravitationally lensed dual AGN system at redshift 2.37 with two radio components

Abstract

Dual-Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are a natural consequence of the hierarchical structure formation scenario, and can provide an important test of various models for black hole growth. However, due to their rarity and difficulty to find at high redshift, very few confirmed dual-AGN are known at the epoch where galaxy formation peaks. Here we report the discovery of a gravitationally lensed dual-AGN system at redshift 2.37 comprising two optical/IR quasars separated by 6.5+/-0.6 kpc, and a third compact (R_eff = 0.45+/-0.02 kpc) red galaxy that is offset from one of the quasars by 1.7+/-0.1 kpc. From Very Large Array imaging at 3 GHz, we detect 600 and 340 pc-scale radio emission that is associated with both quasars. The 1.4 GHz luminosity densities of the radio sources are about 10^24.35 W / Hz, which is consistent with weak jets. However, the low brightness temperature of the emission is also consistent with star-formation at the level of 850 to 1150 M_sun / yr. Although this supports the scenario where the AGN and/or star-formation is being triggered through an ongoing triple-merger, a post-merger scenario where two black holes are recoiling is also possible, given that neither has a detected host galaxy.

5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

References in corpus (14)

• The bulk of the black hole growth since z~1 occurs in a secular universe: No major merger-AGN connection
• The Quest for Dual and Binary Supermassive Black Holes: A Multi-Messenger View
• A definitive merger-AGN connection at z~0 with CFIS: mergers have an excess of AGN and AGN hosts are more frequently disturbed
• Black hole mergers from dwarf to massive galaxies with the NewHorizon and Horizon-AGN simulations
• Incidence of WISE-Selected Obscured AGNs in Major Mergers and Interactions from the SDSS
• COSMOGRAIL XIX: Time delays in 18 strongly lensed quasars from 15 years of optical monitoring
• CANDELS: Elevated Black Hole Growth in the Progenitors of Compact Quiescent Galaxies at z~2
• Investigating the Effect of Galaxy Interactions on AGN Enhancement at $0.5<z<3.0$
• Searching for Dual AGN in Galaxies with Double-Peaked Emission Line Spectra using Radio Observations
• Galaxy mergers up to z < 2.5 II: AGN incidence of merging galaxies at separations of 3-15 kpc
• Implications of the Environments of Radio-detected AGN in a Complex Protostructure at z$\sim$3.3
• The Connection between Mergers and AGN Activity in Simulated and Observed Massive Galaxies
• Characterization of a sample of intermediate-type AGN. I. Spectroscopic properties and serendipitous discovery of new Dual AGN
• A new perspective on the submillimetre galaxy MM 18423+5938 at redshift 3.9296 from radio continuum imaging

Cited by in corpus (7)

• STRIDES: Automated uniform models for 30 quadruply imaged quasars
• TDCOSMO X. Automated Modeling of 9 Strongly Lensed Quasars and Comparison Between Lens Modeling Software
• J1721+8842: The first Einstein zig-zag lens
• A Candidate Dual QSO at Cosmic Noon
• Strong gravitational lensing with upcoming wide-field radio surveys
• An extended and extremely thin gravitational arc from a lensed compact symmetric object at redshift 2.059
• Finding Lensed Radio Sources with the VLA Sky Survey