Testing the binary black hole paradigm through the Fe Kalpha line profile: application to 3C 273

Abstract

We propose the study of long-term variations in the Fe Kalpha line profile as a discriminator for binary black hole (BH) systems. The existence of a binary BH in the center of an active galaxy will produce a particular signature in the evolution of the line profile, as a result of disk precession. This signature is a periodic variation of the position of the blue edge of the profile, accompanied by periodic change of its intensity. We show that detection of the former is clearly within the observational capabilities of planned X-ray missions. Detecting a periodic variation of line profiles would provide the first direct evidence for precessing discs in active galactic nuclei, as opposed to the existing evidence supporting only the precession of jets. We apply these ideas to 3C 273.

Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press. 2 figures, 1 table

References in corpus (10)

• ASCA observations of Seyfert 1 galaxies: II. Relativistic Iron K-alpha emission
• Broad iron lines in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Evolution of massive binary black holes
• The variable iron K emission line in MCG-6-30-15
• The properties of the relativistic iron K-line in NGC 3516
• Multi-wavelength Observations of 3C 273 in 1993-1995
• The Ultraviolet Peak of the Energy Distribution in 3C~273: Evidence for an Accretion Disk and Hot Corona Around a Massive Black Hole
• A Broad Fe-Kalpha Emission Line in the X-Ray Spectrum of the Quasar 3C 273
• The effects of relativistic bulk motion of X-ray flares in the corona on the iron Kalpha line in Seyfert 1 galaxies
• Iron K-alpha line profiles driven by non-axisymmetric illumination

Cited by in corpus (8)

• Modeling of Emission Signatures of Massive Black Hole Binaries: I Methods
• A historic jet-emission minimum reveals hidden spectral features in 3C 273
• The binary black hole scenario for the BL Lacertae object AO 0235+16
• Locating positions of γ-ray--emitting regions in blazars
• Constraining broad-line regions from time lags of broad emission lines relative to radio emission
• Probing the precession of the inner accretion disk in Cygnus X-1
• Prospects for Time-Domain and Multi-Messenger Science with eXTP
• Tests of General Relativity using black hole X-ray data