1. Authenticating the Presence of a Relativistic Massive Black Hole Binary in OJ 287 Using Its General Relativity Centenary Flare: Improved Orbital Parameters
- Author
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Lankeswar Dey, M. J. Valtonen, A. Gopakumar, S. Zola, R. Hudec, P. Pihajoki, S. Ciprini, K. Matsumoto, K. Sadakane, M. Kidger, K. Nilsson, S. Mikkola, A. Sillanpää, L. O. Takalo, H. J. Lehto, A. Berdyugin, V. Piirola, H. Jermak, K. S. Baliyan, T. Pursimo, D. B. Caton, F. Alicavus, A. Baransky, P. Blay, P. Boumis, D. Boyd, M. Campas Torrent, F. Campos, J. Carrillo Gómez, S. Chandra, V. Chavushyan, J. Dalessio, B. Debski, M. Drozdz, H. Er, A. Erdem, A. Escartin Pérez, V. Fallah Ramazani, A. V. Filippenko, E. Gafton, S. Ganesh, F. Garcia, K. Gazeas, V. Godunova, F. Gómez Pinilla, M. Gopinathan, J. B. Haislip, J. Harmanen, G. Hurst, J. Janík, M. Jelinek, A. Joshi, M. Kagitani, R. Karjalainen, N. Kaur, W. C. Keel, V. V. Kouprianov, T. Kundera, S. Kurowski, A. Kvammen, A. P. LaCluyze, B. C. Lee, A. Liakos, E. Lindfors, J. Lozano de Haro, M. Mugrauer, R. Naves Nogues, A. W. Neely, R. H. Nelson, W. Ogloza, S. Okano, U. Pajdosz-Śmierciak, J. C. Pandey, M. Perri, G. Poyner, J. Provencal, A. Raj, D. E. Reichart, R. Reinthal, T. Reynolds, J. Saario, S. Sadegi, T. Sakanoi, J.-L. Salto González, null Sameer, T. Schweyer, A. Simon, M. Siwak, F. C. Soldán Alfaro, E. Sonbas, I. Steele, J. T. Stocke, J. Strobl, T. Tomov, L. Tremosa Espasa, J. R. Valdes, J. Valero Pérez, F. Verrecchia, V. Vasylenko, J. R. Webb, M. Yoneda, M. Zejmo, W. Zheng, P. Zielinski, and Department of Physics
- Subjects
General relativity ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,black hole physics ,OJ-287 ,FOS: Physical sciences ,GRAVITATIONAL-RADIATION REACTION ,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc) ,Astrophysics ,individual: OJ 287 [quasars] ,OUTBURSTS ,01 natural sciences ,General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology ,law.invention ,VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Fysikk: 430::Astrofysikk, astronomi: 438 ,Binary black hole ,MOMENTS ,law ,quasars: general ,0103 physical sciences ,Blazar ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,QC ,QB ,High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena (astro-ph.HE) ,Orbital elements ,Physics ,general [quasars] ,COMPACT BINARIES ,OJ287 ,010308 nuclear & particles physics ,Gravitational wave ,quasars: individual (OJ 287) ,SYSTEMS NONSPINNING BODIES ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,115 Astronomy, Space science ,Orbital period ,Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies ,VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Physics: 430::Astrophysics, astronomy: 438 ,MODEL ,Black hole ,SPIN ,gravitation ,Space and Planetary Science ,Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) ,Astrophysics - High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,WAVE-FORM ,Flare - Abstract
Results from regular monitoring of relativistic compact binaries like PSR 1913+16 are consistent with the dominant (quadrupole) order emission of gravitational waves (GWs). We show that observations associated with the binary black hole central engine of blazar OJ 287 demand the inclusion of gravitational radiation reaction effects beyond the quadrupolar order. It turns out that even the effects of certain hereditary contributions to GW emission are required to predict impact flare timings of OJ 287. We develop an approach that incorporates this effect into the binary black hole model for OJ~287. This allows us to demonstrate an excellent agreement between the observed impact flare timings and those predicted from ten orbital cycles of the binary black hole central engine model. The deduced rate of orbital period decay is nine orders of magnitude higher than the observed rate in PSR 1913+16, demonstrating again the relativistic nature of OJ 287's central engine. Finally, we argue that precise timing of the predicted 2019 impact flare should allow a test of the celebrated black hole "no-hair theorem" at the 10% level., 24 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in ApJ
- Published
- 2018
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