• DOI:10.1086/383310
• Corpus ID: 14297940

Obscured Binary Quasar Cores in SDSS J104807.74+005543.5?

@article{Zhou2004ObscuredBQ,
  title={Obscured Binary Quasar Cores in SDSS J104807.74+005543.5?},
  author={Hongyan Zhou and Tinggui Wang and XueGuang Zhang and Xiaobo Dong and Cheng Li},
  journal={The Astrophysical Journal},
  year={2004},
  volume={604}
}

• Hongyan Zhou, Tinggui Wang, +2 authors Cheng Li
• Published 26 February 2004
• Physics
• The Astrophysical Journal

We report the discovery of a possible close binary system of quasars in SDSS J1048+0055. The [O III] λλ4959, 5007 emission lines are clearly double-peaked, and two discrete radio sources with a projected physical separation of ~20 pc are found in the Very Long Baseline Array milliarcsecond resolution image at 8.4 GHz. Each of the [O III] λλ4959, 5007 doublets and Hβ can be well modeled by two Gaussians, and the line ratio [O III] λ5007/Hβ ~ 7 is typical of Seyfert 2 galaxies. No broad component of Hβ was detected, and its [O III] λ5007 luminosity, L ≈ 9.2 × 1042 ergs s-1, is comparable to luminous quasars and is a few ×10 more luminous than typical Seyfert galaxies. One natural interpretation is that SDSS J1048+0055 contains two close quasar-like nuclei, and the broad-line region around them is obscured. Other possible models are also discussed. We suggest that a double-peaked narrow emission line profile may be an effective way of selecting candidates of binary black holes with intermediate separation.