GS044
Confirming the first detection of a merging dual SMBH system at high-z
We have recently detected the first example of proper motion in a candidate binary black hole system at z ~ 3 through high resolution radio imaging with the VLBA at 1.7 GHz and by using the magnification provided by a gravitational lens. We find that the two radio-loud black holes are moving towards each other, with a current projected distance of just ~175 pc. Here, we request sensitive global VLBI observations at 5 GHz to i) make a higher precision measurement of the proper motion of the radio components and ii) test the lensing mass model for the system. These observations will robustly confirm the binary black hole hypothesis and test dynamical models for this system.
Observation pages at the EVN archive:
Context for this dataThis data is part of the archive of VLBI data maintained by JIVE on behalf of the EVN, a network of radio telescopes located primarily in Europe and Asia, with additional antennas in South Africa. The EVN archive itself has the DOI https://doi.org/10.17616/R3Z197