Very Large Array Multi-band Radio Imaging of the Triple AGN Candidate SDSS J0849+1114

Abstract

Kpc-scale triple active galactic nuclei (AGNs), potential precursors of gravitationally-bound triple massive black holes (MBHs), are rarely seen objects and believed to play an important role in the evolution of MBHs and their host galaxies. In this work we present a multi-band (3.0, 6.0 10.0, and 15.0 GHz), high-resolution radio imaging of the triple AGN candidate, SDSS J0849+1114, using the Very Large Array. Two of the three nuclei (A and C) are detected at 3.0, 6.0, and 15 GHz for the first time, both exhibiting a steep spectrum over 3--15 GHz (with a spectral index $-0.90\pm 0.05$ and $-1.03\pm 0.04$) consistent with a synchrotron origin. Nucleus A, the strongest nucleus among the three, shows a double-sided jet, with the jet orientation changing by $\sim 20^{\circ }$ between its inner 1" and the outer 5.5" (8.1 kpc) components, which may be explained as the MBH's angular momentum having been altered by merger-enhanced accretion. Nucleus C also shows a two-sided jet, with the western jet inflating into a radio lobe with an extent of 1.5" (2.2 kpc). The internal energy of the radio lobe is estimated to be $5.0\times 10^{55}$ erg, for an equipartition magnetic field strength of $\sim 160\mu \mathrm{G}$. No significant radio emission is detected at all four frequencies for nucleus B, yielding an upper limit of 15, 15, 15, and 18 $\mu \mathrm{Jy}\mathrm{bea}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$ at 3.0, 6.0, 10.0, and 15.0 GHz, based on which we constrain the star formation rate in nucleus B to be $\lesssim 0.4{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1}$.

arXiv comment11 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ. Comments welcome

References in corpus (34)

• The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE): Mission Description and Initial On-orbit Performance
• Star Formation in the Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies
• Nuclear Activity in Nearby Galaxies
• Relations Between Central Black Hole Mass and Total Galaxy Stellar Mass in the Local Universe
• Magnetic Field in Clusters of Galaxies
• Dynamics of triple black hole systems in hierarchically merging massive galaxies
• Type 2 AGNs with Double-Peaked [O III] Lines: Narrow Line Region Kinematics or Merging Supermassive Black Hole Pairs?
• GAMA/H-ATLAS: A meta-analysis of SFR indicators - comprehensive measures of the SFR-M* relation and Cosmic Star Formation History at z < 0.4
• Active Galactic Nucleus Pairs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. The Frequency on ~ 5-100 kpc Scales
• A close-pair binary in a distant triple supermassive black-hole system
• Quasars That Have Transitioned from Radio-quiet to Radio-loud on Decadal Timescales Revealed by VLASS and FIRST
• Triplets of supermassive black holes: Astrophysics, Gravitational Waves and Detection
• Radio synchrotron spectra of star-forming galaxies
• Galaxy And Mass Assembly: The 1.4GHz SFR indicator, SFR-M* relation and predictions for ASKAP-GAMA
• Galactic nuclei evolution with spinning black holes: method and implementation
• Radio-Selected Binary Active Galactic Nuclei from the Very Large Array Stripe 82 Survey
• NGC6240: A triple nucleus system in the advanced or final state of merging
• An Offset Seyfert 2 Nucleus in the Minor Merger System NGC 3341
• Buried Black Hole Growth in IR-selected Mergers: New Results from Chandra
• A Triple AGN in a Mid-Infrared Selected Late Stage Galaxy Merger
• Discovery of a Probable Physical Triple Quasar
• Binary Active Galactic Nuclei in Stripe 82: Constraints on Synchronized Black Hole Accretion in Major Mergers
• Cosmic Train Wreck by Massive Black Holes: Discovery of a kpc-Scale Triple Active Galactic Nucleus
• Shocks, Seyferts and the SNR connection: a Chandra observation of the Circinus galaxy
• Evidence for Three Accreting Black Holes in a Galaxy at z~1.35: A Snapshot of Recently Formed Black Hole Seeds?
• Evidence from the Very Long Baseline Array that J1502SE/SW are Double Hotspots, not a Supermassive Binary Black Hole
• A Trio of Massive Black Holes Caught in the Act of Merging
• SDSS J1056+5516: A Triple AGN or an SMBH Recoil Candidate?
• AGN Triality of Triple Mergers: Detection of Faint X-ray Point Sources
• Caught in the Act: Discovery of a Physical Quasar Triplet
• Black hole spin evolution in warped accretion discs
• Constraints on Two Active Galactic Nuclei in the Merger Remnant COSMOS J100043.15+020637.2
• Very long baseline interferometry observation of the triple AGN candidate J0849+1114
• AGN Triality of Triple Mergers: Multi-wavelength Classifications

Cited by in corpus (2)

• NOEMA Detection of Circumnuclear Molecular Gas in X-ray Weak Dual Active Galactic Nuclei: No Evidence for Heavy Obscuration
• SDSS J153231.80+420342.7: a triple black hole candidate with a close binary black hole