Hintze Centre for Astrophysical Surveys

Abstract:

Galaxies and supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are believed to evolve through a process of hierarchical merging and accretion. Through this paradigm, multiple SMBH systems are expected to be relatively common in the Universe. However, to date there are poor observational constraints on multiple SMBHs systems with separations comparable to a SMBH gravitational sphere of influence (<< 1 kpc). In this chapter, we discuss how deep continuum observations with the SKA will make leading contributions towards understanding how multiple black hole systems impact galaxy evolution. In addition, these observations will provide constraints on and an understanding of stochastic gravitational wave background detections in the pulsar timing array sensitivity band (nanoHz -microHz). We also discuss how targets for pointed gravitational wave experiments (that cannot be resolved by VLBI) could potentially be found using the large-scale radio-jet morphology, which can be modulated by the presence of a close-pair binary SMBH system. The combination of direct imaging at high angular resolution; low-surface brightness radio-jet tracers; and pulsar timing arrays will allow the SKA to trace black hole binary evolution from separations of a galaxy virial radius down to the sub-parsec level. This large dynamic range in binary SMBH separation will ensure that the SKA plays a leading role in this observational frontier.

Abstract:

© 2015 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. We correlate the positions of radio galaxies in the FIRST survey with the cosmic microwave background lensing convergence estimated from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope over 470 deg < sup > 2 < /sup > to determine the bias of these galaxies. We remove optically cross-matched sources below redshift z = 0.2 to preferentially select active galactic nuclei (AGN). We measure the angular cross-power spectrum C < inf > l < /inf > < sup > kg < /sup > at 4.4σ significance in the multipole range 100 < l < 3000, corresponding to physical scales within ≈2-60 Mpc at an effective redshift z < inf > eff < /inf > = 1.5. Modelling the AGN population with a redshift-dependent bias, the cross-spectrum is well fitted by the Planck best-fitting Λ cold dark matter cosmological model. Fixing the cosmology and assumed redshift distribution of sources, we fit for the overall bias model normalization, finding b(z < inf > eff < /inf > ) = 3.5 ± 0.8 for the full galaxy sample and b(z < inf > eff < /inf > ) = 4.0 ± 1.1(3.0 ± 1.1) for sources brighter (fainter) than 2.5 mJy. This measurement characterizes the typical halo mass of radio-loud AGN: we find log(M < inf > halo < /inf > /M < inf > ⊙ < /inf > ) = 13.6 < inf > -0.4 < /inf > < sup > +0.3 < /sup > .