A Population of Short-Period Variable Quasars from PTF as Supermassive Black Hole Binary Candidates
By: Maria Charisi
Publisher: [publisher not identified]
Published: 2017
Place of publication: [New York, N.Y.?]
Language: eng
Description: Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) are the natural consequence of galaxy mergers and should form frequently in galactic nuclei. Especially at sub-parsec separations, where the binary evolution is slow, SMBHBs should be fairly abundant. However, the observational evidence remains elusive. In this thesis, we focus on periodic variability of quasars as a potential signature of compact SMBHBs. First, we present a systematic search for periodic variability in the photometric database of the Palomar Transient Factory. Our search in a large sample of ~35,000 quasars returned 50 candidates, 33 of which remain significant after the reanalysis of extended light curves including data from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey and the intermediate PTF. Our candidates have periods of a few hundred days. Next, we focus on independent signatures that could verify the binary nature of the candidates. We present a case study of quasar PKS 1302-102, the first candidate that emerged from the large time-domain surveys.

We search for multiple periodic components in the variability with a characteristic frequency pattern predicted by hydrodynamical simulations of circumbinary disks. We do not find compelling evidence for a secondary period. Additionally, in compact SMBHBs, relativistic Doppler boost should be significant and may dominate the variability. This model was suggested as a smoking-gun signature for quasar PKS 1302-102, since it is not expected in quasars with a single BH and it offers a robust prediction, which can be tested with multi-wavelength data. With a control sample of non-periodic quasars, we test whether this signature is distinct from the intrinsic multi-wavelength variability of quasars. We concluded that the Doppler boost does not provide a sharp test for SMBHBs.
Notes: Department: Astronomy.

Thesis advisor: Zoltan Haiman.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Columbia University, 2017.