Collaborative Research: A Systematic Search for Sub-Parsec Binary Supermassive Black Holes

这个合作项目的目标是系统地搜索亚帕秒超大质量黑洞双星(SBHBs)，使用与其中一个黑洞结合的气体发出的宽发射线的多普勒频移作为主要特征。发现如此接近的SBHBs构成了对预测它们存在的星系演化现代场景的关键考验。该计划还将测试其他各种物理模型，这些模型调用SBHBs来解释星系合并后恒星尖点的形成和其中的质量亏损，以及用于处理射电喷流和X形射电源的模型。这项工作的广泛影响包括培养本科生和博士后，通过公开讲座进行推广，以及为非科学家天文学专业的学生进行实验室实验。

The goal of this collaborative project is to carry out a systematic search for sub-parsec supermassive black hole binaries (SBHBs) using as the primary signature the Doppler shift of the broad emission lines emitted by gas that is bound to one of the black holes. Finding such close SBHBs constitutes a crucial test of modern scenarios for galaxy evolution that predict their presence. The program will also test a variety of other physical models that invoke SBHBs to explain the formation of stellar cusps after galaxy mergers and mass deficits therein and models for precessing radio jets and X-shaped radio sources.Broader impacts of the work include training of an undergraduate student and a postdoc, outreach via public lectures, and lab experiments for non-scientist astronomy students.