NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0270
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0270 |
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PI: Julia Comerford, University of California, Berkeley, julie@astro.berkeley.edu
Address: Astronomy Department, 601 Campbell Hall, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
CoI: Brian Gerke, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
CoI: Michael Cooper, University of Arizona
CoI: Jeffrey Newman, University of Pittsburgh
CoI: Marc Davis, University of California, Berkeley
Title: Follow-up of Candidate Dual AGN Galaxies with Longslit Spectroscopy
Abstract:
Observations have established that some galaxies harbor two widely
spaced supermassive black holes (so-called dual SMBHs) as a result of a
recent merger. A statistical study of such systems would have important
implications for galaxy evolution, SMBH growth, and future gravitational
wave experiments; but identifying dual SMBHs in large numbers is
challenging. A promising spectroscopic detection technique has recently
been suggested, which searches for double-peaked emission lines
indicating two active nuclei orbiting in a single galaxy. More study is
needed, however, to differentiate between the spectroscopic signature of
dual SMBHs and that of ionized outflowing gas. We propose observations
that aim to test and refine the spectroscopic technique for dual-SMBH
detection by comparing the two-dimensional spectra of several double-
peaked AGN sources to each other and to a lower-redshift sample. Our
goal is to develop and establish a spectroscopic signature for dual
SMBHs that can be used to identify a statistically interesting sample.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
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NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2010B-0270 |
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