PKS 1302-102

PKS 1302−102

Observation data (Epoch J2000.0)
Constellation| Virgo[1]
Right ascension| 13h 05m 33.01498s[2]
Declination| −10° 33′ 19.4266″[2]
Redshift| 0.2784[1]
Distance| 3.5×10 ~~^~~ 9 ly (1.1 Gpc)[1]
Type| FSRS, FSRQ, FSQ, QSO, E4[2][1]
Apparent magnitude (V)| 14.9[1]
Other designations
PG 1302−102, PG 1302−103, ICRF J130533.0−103319, PKS 1302−102, PKS 1302−103, PKS J1305−1033, PKS B1302−102, QSO J1305−1033, QSO B1302−1017[2], PGC 4662778[1]
See also: Quasar, List of quasars

PKS 1302−102 is a quasar in the Virgo constellation, located at a distance of approximately 1.1 Gpc (around 3.5 billion light-years).[1] It has an apparent magnitude of about 14.9 mag in the V band with a redshift of 0.2784.[1] The quasar is hosted by a bright elliptical galaxy,[3] with two neighboring companions at distances of 3 kpc and 6 kpc. The light curve of PKS 1302−102 appears to be sinusoidal with an amplitude of 0.14 mag and a period of 1,884 ± 88 days, which suggests evidence of a supermassive black hole binary.[4]

## Possible black hole binary

[edit]

PKS 1302−102 was selected from the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey as one of 20 quasars with apparent periodic variations in the light curve. Of these quasars, PKS 1302−102 appeared to be the best candidate in terms of sinusoidal behavior and other selection criteria, such as data coverage of more than 1.5 cycles in the measured period.[4] One plausible interpretation of the apparent periodic behavior is the possibility of two supermassive black holes (SMBH) orbiting each other with a separation of approximately 0.1 pc in the final stages of a 3.3 billion year old galaxy merger. If this turns out to be the case, it would make PKS 1302−102 an important object of study to various areas of research, including gravitational wave studies and the unsolved final parsec problem in a merger of black holes.

Other explanations, of lesser likelihood, to the observed sinusoidal periodicity include a hot spot on the inner part of the black hole's accretion disk and the possibility of a warped accretion disk which partially eclipses in the orbit around a single SMBH.[4] However, it also remains possible that the periodic behavior in PKS 1302−102 is indeed just a random occurrence in the light curve of an ordinary quasar, as spurious nearly-periodic variations can occur over limited time periods as part of stochastic quasar variability.[5] Further observations of the quasar could either promote true periodicity or rule out a binary interpretation, especially if the measured light curve randomly diverges from the sinusoidal model.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h "PG 1302−102". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2015-01-11.
2. ^ a b c d "ICRF J130533.0−103319". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
3. ^ Disney, M. J.; Boyce, P. J.; Blades, J. C.; Boksenberg, A.; Crane, P.; Deharveng, J. M.; Macchetto, F.; Mackay, C. D.; Sparks, W. B. (1995-07-13). "Interacting elliptical galaxies as hosts of intermediate-redshift quasars". Nature. 376 (6536): 150–153. Bibcode:1995Natur.376..150D. doi:10.1038/376150a0. S2CID 4346547.
4. ^ a b c Graham, Matthew J.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Stern, Daniel; Glikman, Eilat; Drake, Andrew J.; Mahabal, Ashish A.; Donalek, Ciro; Larson, Steve; Christensen, Eric (2015-02-01). "A possible close supermassive black-hole binary in a quasar with optical periodicity". Nature. 518 (7537): 74–76. arXiv:1501.01375. Bibcode:2015Natur.518...74G. doi:10.1038/nature14143. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 25561176. S2CID 4459433.
5. ^ a b Vaughan, S.; Uttley, P.; Markowitz, A. G.; Huppenkothen, D.; Middleton, M. J.; Alston, W. N.; Scargle, J. D.; Farr, W. M. (2016-09-01). "False periodicities in quasar time-domain surveys". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 461 (3): 3145–3152. arXiv:1606.02620. Bibcode:2016MNRAS.461.3145V. doi:10.1093/mnras/stw1412. ISSN 0035-8711.

## Further reading

[edit]

* https://arstechnica.com/science/2015/01/supermassive-black-hole-binary-discovered/
* https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/08/science/in-a-far-off-galaxy-2-black-holes-dance-toward-an-explosive-union.html

* v
* t
* e

Black holes

* Outline

Types|

* BTZ black hole
* Schwarzschild
* Rotating
* Charged
* Virtual
* Kugelblitz
* Supermassive
* Primordial
* Direct collapse
* Rogue
* Malament–Hogarth spacetime

Size|

* Micro
* Extremal
* Electron
* Hawking star
* Stellar
* Microquasar
* Intermediate-mass
* Supermassive
* Active galactic nucleus
* Quasar
* LQG
* Blazar
* OVV
* Radio-Quiet
* Radio-Loud

Formation|

* Stellar evolution
* Gravitational collapse
* Neutron star
* Related links
* Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit
* White dwarf
* Related links
* Supernova
* Micronova
* Hypernova
* Related links
* Gamma-ray burst
* Binary black hole
* Quark star
* Supermassive star
* Quasi-star
* Supermassive dark star
* X-ray binary

Properties|

* Astrophysical jet
* Gravitational singularity
* Ring singularity
* Theorems
* Event horizon
* Photon sphere
* Innermost stable circular orbit
* Ergosphere
* Penrose process
* Blandford–Znajek process
* Accretion disk
* Hawking radiation
* Gravitational lens
* Microlens
* Bondi accretion
* M–sigma relation
* Quasi-periodic oscillation
* Thermodynamics
* Bekenstein bound
* Bousso's holographic bound
* Immirzi parameter
* Schwarzschild radius
* Spaghettification

Issues|

* Black hole complementarity
* Information paradox
* Cosmic censorship
* ER = EPR
* Final parsec problem
* Firewall (physics)
* Holographic principle
* No-hair theorem

Metrics|

* Schwarzschild (Derivation)
* Kerr
* Reissner–Nordström
* Kerr–Newman
* Hayward

Alternatives|

* Nonsingular black hole models
* Black star
* Dark star
* Dark-energy star
* Gravastar
* Magnetospheric eternally collapsing object
* Planck star
* Q star
* Fuzzball
* Geon

Analogs|

* Optical black hole
* Sonic black hole

Lists|

* Black holes
* Most massive
* Nearest
* Quasars
* Microquasars

Related|

* Outline of black holes
* Black Hole Initiative
* Black hole starship
* Black holes in fiction
* Big Bang
* Big Bounce
* Compact star
* Exotic star
* Quark star
* Preon star
* Gravitational waves
* Gamma-ray burst progenitors
* Gravity well
* Hypercompact stellar system
* Membrane paradigm
* Naked singularity
* Population III star
* Supermassive star
* Quasi-star
* Supermassive dark star
* Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
* Superluminal motion
* Timeline of black hole physics
* White hole
* Wormhole
* Tidal disruption event
* Planet Nine

Notable|

* Cygnus X-1
* XTE J1650-500
* XTE J1118+480
* A0620-00
* SDSS J150243.09+111557.3
* Sagittarius A*
* Centaurus A
* Phoenix Cluster
* PKS 1302-102
* OJ 287
* SDSS J0849+1114
* TON 618
* MS 0735.6+7421
* NeVe 1
* Hercules A
* 3C 273
* Q0906+6930
* Markarian 501
* ULAS J1342+0928
* PSO J030947.49+271757.31
* P172+18
* AT2018hyz
* Swift J1644+57

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Galaxies

Morphology|

* Disc
* Lenticular
* barred
* unbarred
* Spiral
* anemic
* barred
* flocculent
* grand design
* intermediate
* Magellanic
* unbarred
* Dwarf galaxy
* elliptical
* irregular
* spheroidal
* spiral
* Elliptical galaxy
* cD
* Irregular
* barred
* Peculiar
* Ring
* Polar

Structure|

* Active galactic nucleus
* Bar
* Bulge
* Central massive object
* Galactic Center
* Dark matter halo
* Disc
* Disc galaxy
* Halo
* corona
* Galactic plane
* Galactic ridge
* Interstellar medium
* Protogalaxy
* Galaxy filament
* Spiral arm
* Supermassive black hole
* Ultramassive

Active nuclei|

* Blazar
* LINER
* Markarian
* Quasar
* BL Lacertae object
* Radio
* X-shaped
* DRAGN
* Relativistic jet
* Seyfert

Energetic galaxies|

* Lyman-alpha emitter
* Lyman-break
* Luminous infrared
* ULIRG
* HLIRG
* ELIRG
* Starburst
* blue compact dwarf
* pea
* faint blue
* Luminous infrared galaxy
* Hot dust-obscured
* Green bean galaxy
* Hanny's Voorwerp
* Wolf-Rayet galaxy

Low activity|

* Low surface brightness
* Ultra diffuse
* Dark galaxy
* Red nugget
* Blue Nugget
* Dead disk

Interaction|

* Field
* Galactic tide
* Groups and clusters
* group
* cluster
* Brightest cluster galaxy
* fossil group
* Interacting
* merger
* collision
* cannibalism
* Jellyfish
* Satellite
* Stellar stream
* Superclusters
* Walls
* Voids and supervoids
* void galaxy

Lists|

* Galaxies
* Galaxies named after people
* Largest
* Nearest
* Polar-ring
* Ring
* Spiral
* Groups and clusters
* Large quasar groups
* Quasars
* List of the most distant astronomical objects
* Starburst galaxies
* Superclusters
* Voids

See also|

* Extragalactic astronomy
* Galactic astronomy
* Galactic coordinate system
* Galactic habitable zone
* Galactic magnetic fields
* Galactic orientation
* Galactic quadrant
* Galaxy color–magnitude diagram
* Galaxy formation and evolution
* Galaxy rotation curve
* Gravitational lens
* Gravitational microlensing
* Illustris project
* Intergalactic dust
* Intergalactic stars
* Intergalactic travel
* Population III stars
* Galaxy X (galaxy)

* Category
* Portal

*[PG]: Palomar-Green
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template