SDSS J0849+1114 (SDSS J084905.51+111447.2) is a late-stage galaxy merger forming from a trio of galaxies located in the constellation of Cancer. At the redshift of 0.077, they are located 1.06 billion light-years from Earth.[1][2] First discovered as a triple active galactic nucleus (AGN) candidate in a Sloan Digital Sky Survey study published in 2011,[3] they received significant attention when astronomers discovered it harbors three supermassive black holes in its center.[4]
| SDSS J0849+1114 | |
|---|---|
 SDSS J0849+1114 in optical and as captured by the Chandra X-ray Observatory | |
| Observation data (J2000.0 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Cancer |
| Right ascension | 08h 49m 05.51s |
| Declination | +11° 14′ 47.8″ |
| Redshift | 0.077447 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 23,818 km/s |
| Distance | 1.059 Gly (325 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 0.10 |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 0.14 |
| Surface brightness | 16.66 |
| Notable features | triple active galactic nucleus |
| Other designations | |
| SDSS J084905.51+111447.2, IRAS 08463+1126, LEDA 1390839, NVSS J084905+111448 | |
Characteristics
editSDSS J0849+1114 is made up of three closely spaced interacting spiral galaxies, all showing signs of distortion. It has tidal tail features indicative of a late-stage merger.[2][5] The nuclei in SDSS J0849+1114 are considered active and the galaxies classified as type 2 Seyferts according to long-slit spectroscopy observations from Apache Point Observatory.[6][7] A study also mentions out of the triple AGN candidates studied, SDSS J0849+1114 is also the first known triple Seyfert nucleus.[8] In addition, they are classified as luminous infrared galaxies with luminosity of 8-1000 μm.[2]
According to a study published in 2022, the primary nucleus of SDSS J0849+1114 is more powerful compared to the secondary and tertiary nuclei. Further evidence also points out it has a double-sided jet with its orientation changing by 20 degrees, explaining the angular momentum of the black hole might be changed by a merger-enhanced accretion. The secondary nucleus shows absence of radio emission at all frequencies while the tertiary nucleus also has a two-sided jet but shown enlarging a radio lobe. Based on the internal energy of the lobe, it is estimated 5.0 × 1055 erg.[9] Furthermore, the three nuclei showed extended disc and budge components which the two showed signs of tidal stripping by the main nucleus.[8]
Supermassive black holes
editThe three supermassive black holes in SDSS J0849+1114 are found colliding together with a separation gap of only between 10,000 and 30,000 light-years.[10] All of them are surrounded by dusty structures and each of the black holes have a mass of ~1011.3 M☉, 106.4 M☉ and 106.7 M☉ respectively. According to Chandra and NuSTAR observations, one of the black holes showed large quantities of interstellar matter surrounding its torus.[4] It is estimated that the black holes from the merging galaxies will form a gravitationally bound triple black hole system within a few billion years.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Your NED Search Results". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ a b c Pfeifle, Ryan W.; Satyapal, Shobita; Manzano-King, Christina; Cann, Jenna; Sexton, Remington O.; Rothberg, Barry; Canalizo, Gabriela; Ricci, Claudio; Blecha, Laura; Ellison, Sara L.; Gliozzi, Mario; Secrest, Nathan J.; Constantin, Anca; Harvey, Jenna B. (October 1, 2019). "A Triple AGN in a Mid-infrared Selected Late-stage Galaxy Merger". The Astrophysical Journal. 883 (2): 167. arXiv:1908.01732. Bibcode:2019ApJ...883..167P. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab3a9b. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ Liu, Xin; Shen, Yue; Strauss, Michael A.; Hao, Lei (2011-08-01). "Active Galactic Nucleus Pairs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. The Frequency on ~5-100 kpc Scales". The Astrophysical Journal. 737 (2): 101. arXiv:1104.0950. Bibcode:2011ApJ...737..101L. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/737/2/101. ISSN 0004-637X. Archived from the original on 2023-11-15. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ a b "Chandra :: Photo Album :: SDSS J0849+1114 :: September 25, 2019". chandra.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ Pfeifle, Ryan W.; Satyapal, Shobita; Secrest, Nathan J.; Gliozzi, Mario; Ricci, Claudio; Ellison, Sara L.; Rothberg, Barry; Cann, Jenna; Blecha, Laura; Williams, James K.; Constantin, Anca (2019-04-20). "Buried Black Hole Growth in IR-selected Mergers: New Results from Chandra". The Astrophysical Journal. 875 (2): 117. arXiv:1904.10955. Bibcode:2019ApJ...875..117P. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab07bc. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ Gabányi, K. É; Frey, S.; Satyapal, S.; Constantin, A.; Pfeifle, R. W. (2019-10-01). "Very long baseline interferometry observation of the triple AGN candidate J0849+1114". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 630: L5. arXiv:1909.03259. Bibcode:2019A&A...630L...5G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936519. ISSN 0004-6361. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
- ^ Foord, Adi; Gültekin, Kayhan; Runnoe, Jessie C.; Koss, Michael J. (2021-02-01). "AGN Triality of Triple Mergers: Multiwavelength Classifications". The Astrophysical Journal. 907 (2): 72. arXiv:2012.00769. Bibcode:2021ApJ...907...72F. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/abce5e. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ a b c Liu, Xin; Hou, Meicun; Li, Zhiyuan; Nyland, Kristina; Guo, Hengxiao; Kong, Minzhi; Shen, Yue; Wrobel, Joan M.; Peng, Sijia (2019-12-10). "A Trio of Massive Black Holes Caught in the Act of Merging*". The Astrophysical Journal. 887 (1): 90. arXiv:1907.10639. Bibcode:2019ApJ...887...90L. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ab54c3. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ Peng, Sijia; Li, Zhiyuan; Liu, Xin; Nyland, Kristina; Wrobel, Joan M.; Hou, Meicun (July 27, 2022). "Very Large Array Multiband Radio Imaging of the Triple AGN Candidate SDSS J0849+1114". The Astrophysical Journal. 934 (1): 89. arXiv:2206.14705. Bibcode:2022ApJ...934...89P. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac7c18. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ Mike Wall (2019-09-26). "Rare Discovery! 3 Monster Black Holes Are About to Collide". Space.com. Archived from the original on 2024-09-17. Retrieved 2024-09-17.