Hindawi Publishing Corporation Advances in Astronomy Volume 2012, Article ID 364973, 8 pages doi:10.1155/2012/364973 Review Article Recoiling Black Holes: Electromagnetic Signatures, Candidates, and Astrophysical Implications S. Komossa1, 2, 3 1 Fakultat¨ fur¨ Physik, Technische Universitat¨ Munchen,¨ James Franck Straße 1/I, 85748 Garching, Germany 2 Excellence Cluster Universe, TUM, Boltzmannstraße 2, 85748 Garching, Germany 3 Max-Planck-Institut fur¨ Plasmaphysik, Boltzmannstraße 2, 85748 Garching, Germany Correspondence should be addressed to S. Komossa, [email protected] Received 11 November 2011; Accepted 5 January 2012 Academic Editor: Francesca Civano Copyright © 2012 S. Komossa. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) may not always reside right at the centers of their host galaxies. This is a prediction of numerical relativity simulations, which imply that the newly formed single SMBH, after binary coalescence in a galaxy merger, can receive kick velocities up to several 1000 km/s due to anisotropic emission of gravitational waves. Long-lived oscillations of the SMBHs in galaxy cores, and in rare cases even SMBH ejections from their host galaxies, are the consequence. Observationally, accreting recoiling SMBHs would appear as quasars spatially and/or kinematically offset from their host galaxies. The presence of the “kicks” has a wide range of astrophysical implications which only now are beginning to be explored, including consequences for black hole and galaxy assembly at the epoch of structure formation, black hole feeding, and unified models of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Here, we review the observational signatures of recoiling SMBHs and the properties of the first candidates which have emerged, including follow-up studies of the candidate recoiling SMBH of SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0. 1. Introduction angular momentum. In unbound encounters (not likely to occur in astrophysical environments), the kick velocity can Interaction and merging of galaxies occurs frequently exceed 15 000 km/s [19, 20]. throughout the history of the universe. If both galaxies do After the kick, the recoiling SMBH will oscillate about the harbor SMBHs, binaries will inevitably form [1]. Galaxy core of its host galaxy [21, 22] or will even escape, if its kick mergers are believed to be the sites of major black hole velocity exceeds the escape velocity of its host. In a “typical,” growth, and an active search for SMBH pairs and binaries of gas-poor galaxy, a black hole kick velocity of 500 km/s will wide and small separations is currently ongoing (see [2]fora result in an initial amplitude of ∼200 pc, and an oscillation review of electromagnetic signatures). When the two SMBHs timescale of order 107 yrs (Figure 1 of [23]). The kicks, in- ultimately coalesce, they are a source of strong gravitational cluding those large enough to remove SMBHs from their waves. These are emitted anisotropically during coalescence host galaxies, have potentially far-reaching astrophysical con- and carry away linear momentum (e.g., [3]). As a result, the sequences, including for SMBH and galaxy assembly and newly formed single SMBH recoils. Configurations of coales- AGN statistics. Upon recoil, the most tightly bound gas will cing black holes can lead to kick velocities up to several thou- remain bound to the recoiling black hole, and therefore high- sand km/s (e.g., [4–16]; review by [17]). In the initial com- velocity kicks imply the existence of interstellar and inter- putations, kick velocity was highest for maximally spinning galactic quasars (e.g., [21–30]). Identifying recoiling SMBHs equal-mass black hole binaries with antialigned spins in the through observations is of great interest. Several key elec- orbital plane (“superkicks”). More recently, based on a new tromagnetic signatures of kicks have been predicted in the recoil formula, Lousto and Zlochower [18]haveestimated last few years, and first candidate recoiling SMBHs have that recoil velocities up to 5000 km/s can be reached in emerged. This chapter is structured as follows. In Section 2, configurations with spins partially aligned with the orbital an overview of the predicted electromagnetic signatures of 2 Advances in Astronomy recoiling SMBHs is given. In Section 3 the event frequency is accretion disk surrounding the SMBH just after recoil, or discussed, while Sections 4 and 5 provide a review of the pub- when the inner disk reforms (e.g., [38–46]). These flares may lished candidate recoiling SMBHs. Section 6 explores conse- last ≈104 yrs and may be detectable in current and future sky quences of recoil for unified models of AGN. Section 7 con- surveys. cludes with some astrophysical consequences and important future studies. 2.3. Tidal Disruption Flares from Stars Around Recoiling SMBHs. Even in the absence of an accretion disk, ejected 2. Electromagnetic Signatures of SMBHswillalwayscarryaretinueofboundstars.Observable Recoiling SMBHs effects related to these stars are therefore perhaps the most universal signature of recoil. As the SMBH moves through 2.1. Broad Emission-Line Shifts. After the kick, matter re- the galaxy, the bound, and unbound, stars are subject to mains bound to the recoiling SMBH within a region whose tidal disruption, leading to powerful X-ray flares of quasar- r radius k is given by like luminosity [47, 48], which would appear off-nuclear GM M v −2 or even intergalactic. Komossa and Merritt [49]computed r = BH ≈ . BH k k 2 0 4 − pc, (1) disruption rates for the bound, and the unbound, stellar pop- v 108 M 103 km s 1 k ulations under recoil conditions. In the resonant relaxation −6 −1 where vk is the kick velocity [31]. This region is on the order regime, they showed that the rates are of order 10 yr for of the size of the broad line region (BLR) of AGN [32]. The a typical postmerger galaxy (Figure 2 of [49]); smaller than, accretion disk and BLR will therefore typically remain bound but comparable to, rates for nonrecoiling SMBHs. At an early to the SMBH while the bulk of the host galaxy’s narrow-line phase of recoil, the tidal disruption rate can be much higher, region (NLR) will remain behind. The accreting recoiling when the SMBH experiences a full loss cone, and travels SMBH will therefore appear as an off-nuclear “quasar” as through the clumpy core environment of a recent merger long as its accretion supply lasts. However, spatial offsets are [49]. The flare rate may temporarily reach values as high [50] challenging to detect even with the Hubble Space Telescope as during the peak of the premerger binary phase [51]. (HST) except in the nearby universe. The kinematic Doppler Another signature related to the stars bound to the re- shifts of the broad emission lines are, in principle, easy to coiling SMBH is episodic X-ray emission from accretion due measure out to high redshifts. Spectroscopically, recoiling to stellar mass loss. Mass loss provides a reservoir of gas, SMBHs will appear as AGN which have their broad emission and therefore also optical emission lines from gas at the recoil lines kinematically shifted by up to ∼5000 km/s with respect velocity even in the initial absence of a gaseous accretion disk. to their NLRs. Other consequences include the presence of intergalactic Bonning et al. [33] suggested several criteria, how to planetary nebulae and supernovae, after the ejected SMBH identify a recoiling SMBH spectroscopically. Apart from (1) has left its host galaxy [49]. the kinematic shift of the BLR, a candidate recoiling SMBH All these signals would generically be associated with re- should (2) show symmetric broad line profiles, it should (3) coiling SMBHs, whether or not the galaxy merger is gas-rich lack an ionization stratification of its narrow emission lines, or dry, and whether or not an accretion disk is present ini- and it should (4) not show any shift between broad MgII tially, and they would continue episodically for a time of and the broad Balmer lines. (In practice, individual recoil ∼10 Gyr [49]. candidates may show some (temporary) deviations from this scheme, or exhibit extra features. For instance, just after 2.4. Hypercompact Stellar Systems. While the “tidal recoil recoil, the BLR emission profiles would likely be asymmetric. flares” are very luminous and can be detected out to very Feedback trails from partially bound gas and disk winds large distances, the compact system of bound stars itself will would produce emission-line signatures at various kinematic be detectable in the nearby universe, and would resemble a shifts between zero and the recoil velocity. Once the SMBH globular cluster in total luminosity, but with a much greater has travelled beyond the extent of the classical NLR of a few velocity dispersion due to the large binding mass MBH [49]. kpc extent, low-density “halo” gas would dominate the op- Merritt et al. [52] worked out the properties of these “hyper- tical narrow-line spectrum, with emission-line ratios charac- compact stellar systems” (HCSSs), and related the struc- teristically different from the classical NLR.) One object, the tural properties (mass, size, and density profile) of HCSSs quasar SDSSJ092712.65+294344.0, fulfills all of these four to the properties of their host galaxies and to the amplitude criteria and is therefore an excellent candidate for a recoiling of the kick. Since the kick velocity is encoded in the velocity SMBH [34]. It will be further discussed in Section 4, together dispersion of the bound stars, future detection of large sam- with several other candidate recoiling BHs. More candidates may hide in large samples of peculiar broad-line emitters ples of HCSSs would therefore allow us to determine empir- recently identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS; ically the kick distribution, and therefore the merger history [35]).