GMVA21B-162

Imaging massive binary black hole candidate OJ287 with the GMVA+ALMA

Abstract

We propose new 3 mm GMVA+ALMA observations of OJ287, one of the best candidates for hosting a sub-pc separation supermassive binary black hole system (SMBBH), which are prime targets for future nano- and milli-hertz gravitational wave detectors. Our recent analysis has confirmed the significant improvement in north-south resolution and sensitivity provided by ALMA. Our ongoing analysis has also revealed an exciting swing of the innermost jet. New observations in 2022 are essential for not only extending our monitoring to cover about 40% of the estimated SMBBH orbital period, but also to confirm a direction change of the swing as predicted by the SMBBH model. The continued observing campaign will also allow us, for the first time, to study the magnetic field and particle energy distribution evolution at scales not probed before in blazar jets, reaching linear scales of only ~50 Schwarzschild radii. This will be helpful to test the applicability of magnetically driven jet formation models and the SMBBH scenario by comparing predictions from different GRMHD simulations carried out by members of our team.

Investigators

Name	Institution
GBT Operator	Green Bank Observatory
Abhimanyu Susobhanan	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Ilje Cho	Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de; Korea University of Science and Technology
Jun Yi Koay	Academia Sinica
Jongho Park	Kyung Hee University
Hugo Messias	Joint ALMA Observatory
Ruben Herrero-Illana	European Southern Observatory
Violette Impellizzeri	National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Leiden, University of; Joint ALMA Observatory
Elisabetta Liuzzo	Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica
Shoko Koyama	National Astronomical Observatory of Japan ; Academia Sinica
Lankeswar Dey	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
A Gopakumar	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Stanislaw Zola	Uniwersytetu Jagiellonski
Marshall Cohen	California Institute of Technology
Rocco Lico	Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Venkatessh Ramakrishnan	Turku, University of
Masanori Nakamura	Academia Sinica; National Institute of Technology, Hachinohe College
Lindy Blackburn	Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Keiichi Asada	Academia Sinica
Michael Janssen	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Nijmegen, Radboud Universiteit
Sara Issaoun	Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian; Nijmegen, Radboud Universiteit
Efthalia Traianou	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Köln, Universität zu; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Tuomas Savolainen	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Aalto yliopisto
Helge Rottmann	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Tony Zensus	National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Geoffrey Crew	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rusen Lu	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, CAS
Silke Britzen	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Eduardo Ros	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; València, Universitat de
Manel Perucho	València, Universitat de
Jos M. Mart	València, Universitat de
Yosuke Mizuno	Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Frankfurt am Main, Goethe-Universität
Ivan Agudo	Boston University; Joint Institute for Very Long Baseline Interferometry European Research Infrastructure Consortium; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Uwe Bach	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Brissa Gomez-Miller	México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
Laurent Loinard	México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
Sera Markoff	Amsterdam, Universiteit van
Michael Johnson	California at Santa Barbara, University of; Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Kazunori Akiyama	Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Haystack Observatory
Roman Gold	Maryland, University of; Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics; Syddansk Universitet
Jeffrey Hodgson	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Ivan Marti-Vidal	València, Universitat de
Jae-Young Kim	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Kyungpook National University
Carolina Casadio	Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de; Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas
Yuri Kovalev	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Gabriele Bruni	Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica
Svetlana Jorstad	Boston University
Alan Marscher	Boston University
Stefanie Komossa	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Antonio Fuentes	Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Guangyao Zhao	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute; Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de
Thomas Krichbaum	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Jose L. Gomez *	Andalucía, Instituto de Astrofísica de

* indicates the PI