# Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Identifies an r(p)=1 Kpc Dual Active Galactic Nucleus in the Minor Galaxy Merger SDSS J0924+0510 at z=0.1495

## Author(s): Liu, Xin; Guo, Hengxiao; Shen, Yue; Greene, Jenny E.; Strauss, Michael A.

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 Abstract: Kiloparsec-scale dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are active supermassive black hole pairs co-rotating in galaxies with separations of less than a few kpc. Expected to be a generic outcome of hierarchical galaxy formation, their frequency and demographics remain uncertain. We have carried out an imaging survey with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) of AGNs with double-peaked narrow [O III] emission lines. HST/WFC3 offers high image quality in the near-infrared (NIR) to resolve the two stellar nuclei, and in the optical to resolve [O III] from ionized gas in the narrow-line regions. This combination has proven to be key in sorting out alternative scenarios. With HST/WFC3 we are able to explore a new population of close dual AGNs at more advanced merger stages than can be probed from the ground. Here we show that the AGN Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) J0924+0510, which had previously shown two stellar bulges, contains two spatially distinct [O III] regions consistent with a dual AGN. While we cannot completely exclude cross-ionization from a single central engine, the nearly equal ratios of [O III] strongly suggest a dual AGN with a projected angular separation of 0.” 4, corresponding to a projected physical separation of r(p) = 1 kpc at redshift z = 0.1495. This serves as a proof of principle for combining high-resolution NIR and optical imaging to identify close dual AGNs. Our result suggests that studies based on low-resolution and/or low-sensitivity observations may miss close dual AGNs and thereby may underestimate their occurrence rate on less than or similar to kpc scales. Publication Date: 20-Jul-2018 Electronic Publication Date: 19-Jul-2018 Citation: Liu, Xin, Guo, Hengxiao, Shen, Yue, Greene, Jenny E, Strauss, Michael A. (2018). Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Identifies an r(p)=1 Kpc Dual Active Galactic Nucleus in the Minor Galaxy Merger SDSS J0924+0510 at z=0.1495. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 862 (10.3847/1538-4357/aac9cb DOI: doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aac9cb ISSN: 0004-637X EISSN: 1538-4357 Related Item: http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-ref?querymethod=bib&simbo=on&submit=submit+bibcode&bibcode=2018ApJ...862...29Lhttps://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/objsearch?search_type=Search&refcode=2018ApJ...862...29Lhttps://archive.stsci.edu/mastbibref.php?bibcode=2018ApJ...862...29L Type of Material: Journal Article Journal/Proceeding Title: ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL Version: Final published version. Article is made available in OAR by the publisher's permission or policy.