arXiv subjects

R. A. Reeves

Publications and source records attributed to R. A. Reeves.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Compelling Evidence for a Harmonic in the Light Curve of the Supermassive Black Hole Binary Candidate PKS J1309+1154

We recently discovered a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidate, PKS J1309+1154, in the combined 46-yr University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory (UMRAO) plus Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) blazar monitoring programs at 14.5/15 GHz. The light curve of PKS 1309+1154 exhibits a 17.9 year periodicity. We also reported a hint of a first harmonic with a 9 year periodicity in this object. Further analysis of the PKS J1309+1154 light curve provides compelling evidence that both the fundamental and the harmonic are real, confirming the existence of real periodicities in blazar light curves. This is the first case, to our knowledge, of watertight evidence for a fundamental and a harmonic periodicity in a blazar light curve. It makes PKS J1309+1154 a \textit{strong\/} supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidate, and thus the third such candidate to be revealed through long-term radio monitoring, the other two being PKS J0805--0111 and PKS 2131--021, both discovered through the OVRO 40 m Telescope monitoring program. It is argued that hundreds of SMBHB candidates will be discovered by the Vera Rubin and Simons Observatories. Coherent searches for gravitational waves from a network of SMBHB candidates, starting immediately, are strongly motivated.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

A Search for Supermassive Black Hole Binary Candidates in 46-Year Radio Light Curves of 83 Blazars

The combined University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory (UMRAO) and Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) blazar monitoring programs at 14.5/15 GHz provide uninterrupted light curves of $\sim~46-50$ yr duration for 83 blazars, selected from amongst the brightest and most rapidly flaring blazars north of declination $-20^\circ$. In a search for supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) candidates, we carried out tests for periodic variability using generalized Lomb-Scargle (GLS), weighted wavelet-Z (WWZ), and sine-wave fitting (SWF) analyses of this sample. We used simulations to test the effects of the power law spectrum of the power spectral density (PSD) on our findings, and show that the irregular sampling in the observed light curves has very little effect on the GLS spectra. Apparent periodicities and putative harmonics appear in all 83 of the GLS spectra of the blazars in our sample. We tested the reality of these apparent periodicities and harmonics with simulations, and found that in the overwhelming majority of cases they are due to the steep slope of the PSD, and should therefore be treated with great caution. We find one new SMBHB candidate: PKS 1309+1154, which exhibits a 17.9 year periodicity. The fraction of SMBHB candidates in our sample is $2.4_{-0.8}^{+3.2}\%$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2025

PKS 2131-021 -- Discovery of Strong Coherent Sinusoidal Variations from Radio to Optical Frequencies: Compelling Evidence for a Blazar Supermassive Black Hole Binary

Haystack and Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) observations recently revealed strong, intermittent, sinusoidal total flux-density variations that maintained coherence between 1975 and 2021 in the blazar PKS 2131$-$021 ($z=1.283$). This was interpreted as possible evidence of a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB). Extended observations through 2023 show coherence over 47.9 years, with an observed period $P_\textrm{15 GHz}=(1739.8 \pm 17.4)$ days}. We reject, with $p$-value = $2.09 \times 10^{-7}$, the hypothesis that the variations are due to random fluctuations in the red noise tail of the power spectral density. There is clearly a physical phenomenon in PKS 2131$-$021 producing coherent sinusoidal flux density variations. We find the coherent sinusoidal intensity variations extend from below 2.7 GHz to optical frequencies, from which we derive an observed period $P_\textrm{optical}=(1764 \pm 36)$ days. Across this broad frequency range there is a smoothly-varying monotonic phase shift in the sinusoidal variations with frequency. Hints of periodic variations are also observed at $γ$-ray energies. The importance of well-vetted SMBHB candidates to searches for gravitational waves is pointed out. We estimate the fraction of blazars that are SMBHB candidates to be > 1 in 100. Thus monitoring programs covering tens of thousands of blazars could discover hundreds of SMBHB candidates.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2024

The Radio Spectra of High Luminosity Compact Symmetric Objects (CSO-2s): Implications for Studies of Compact Jetted Active Galactic Nuclei

This paper addresses, for the first time, a key aspect of the phenomenology of Compact Symmetric Objects (CSOs) -- the characteristics of their radio spectra. We present a radio-spectrum description of a complete sample of high luminosity CSOs (CSO-2s), which shows that they exhibit the \textit{complete} range of spectral types, including flat-spectrum sources ($α\ge -0.5$), steep-spectrum sources ($α< -0.5$), and peaked-spectrum sources. We show that there is no clear correlation between spectral type and size, but there is a correlation between the high-frequency spectral index and both object type and size. We also show that, to avoid biasing the data and to understand the various classes of jetted-AGN involved, the complete range of spectral types should be included in studying the general phenomenology of compact jetted-AGN, and that complete samples must be used, selected over a wide range of frequencies. We discuss examples that demonstrate these points. We find that the high-frequency spectral indices of CSO-2s span $-1.3 <α_{\rm hi} < -0.3$, and hence that radio spectral signatures cannot be used to discriminate definitively between CSO-2s, binary galactic nuclei, and millilensed objects, unless they have $α_{\rm hi} >-0.3$.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2023

Unprecedented extreme high-frequency radio variability in early-stage active galactic nuclei

We report on the discovery of one of the most extreme cases of high-frequency radio variability ever measured in active galactic nuclei (AGN), observed on timescales of days and exhibiting variability amplitudes of three to four orders of magnitude. These sources, all radio-weak narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, were discovered some years ago at Aalto University Metsähovi Radio Observatory (MRO) based on recurring flaring at 37 GHz, strongly indicating the presence of relativistic jets. In subsequent observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) at 1.6, 5.2, and 9.0~GHz no signs of jets were seen. To determine the cause of their extraordinary behaviour, we observed them with the JVLA at 10, 15, 22, 33, and 45 GHz, and with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 15 GHz. These observations were complemented with single-dish monitoring at 37 GHz at MRO, and at 15 GHz at Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). Intriguingly, all but one source either have a steep radio spectrum up to 45 GHz, or were not detected at all. Based on the 37 GHz data the timescales of the radio flares are a few days, and the derived variability brightness temperatures and variability Doppler factors comparable to those seen in blazars. We discuss alternative explanations for their extreme behaviour, but so far no definite conclusions can be made. These sources exhibit radio variability at a level rarely, if ever, seen in AGN. They might represent a new type of jetted AGN, or a new variability phenomenon, and thus deserve our continued attention.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The Unanticipated Phenomenology of the Blazar PKS~2131$-$021: A Unique Super-Massive Black Hole Binary Candidate

Most large galaxies host supermassive black holes in their nuclei and are subject to mergers, which can produce a supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB), and hence periodic signatures due to orbital motion. We report unique periodic radio flux density variations in the blazar PKS~2131$-$021, which strongly suggest an SMBHB with an orbital separation of $\sim 0.001-0.01$ pc. Our 45.1-year radio light curve shows two epochs of strong sinusoidal variation with the same period and phase to within $<2\%$ and $\sim 10\%$, respectively, straddling a 20-year period when this variation was absent. Our simulated light curves accurately reproduce the ``red noise'' of this object, and Lomb-Scargle, weighted wavelet Z-transform, and least-squares sine wave analyses demonstrate conclusively, at the $4.6σ$ significance level, that the periodicity in this object is not due to random fluctuations in flux density. The observed period translates to $2.082\pm 0.003$ years in the rest frame at the $z=1.285$ redshift of PKS~2131$-$021. The periodic variation in PKS~2131$-$021 is remarkably sinusoidal. We present a model in which orbital motion, combined with the strong Doppler boosting of the approaching relativistic jet, produces a sine-wave modulation in the flux density which easily fits the observations. Given the rapidly-developing field of gravitational wave experiments with pulsar timing arrays, closer counterparts to PKS~2131$-$021 and searches using the techniques we have developed are strongly motivated. These results constitute a compelling demonstration that the phenomenology, not the theory, must provide the lead in this field.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2022

New Tests of Millilensing in the Blazar PKS 1413+135

Symmetric Achromatic Variability (SAV) is a rare form of radio variability in blazars that has been attributed to gravitational millilensing by a ~$10^2 - 10^5$ $M_\odot$ mass condensate. Four SAVs have been identified between 1980 and 2020 in the long-term radio monitoring data of the blazar PKS 1413+135. We show that all four can be fitted with the same, unchanging, gravitational lens model. If SAV is due to gravitational millilensing, PKS 1413+135 provides a unique system for studying active galactic nuclei with unprecedented microarcsecond resolution, as well as for studying the nature of the millilens itself. We discuss two possible candidates for the putative millilens: a giant molecular cloud hosted in the intervening edge-on spiral galaxy, and an undetected dwarf galaxy with a massive black hole. We find a significant dependence of SAV crossing time on frequency, which could indicate a fast shock moving in a slower underlying flow. We also find tentative evidence for a 989-day periodicity in the SAVs, which, if real, makes possible the prediction of future SAVs: the next three windows for possible SAVs begin in August 2022, May 2025, and February 2028.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2021

Association of IceCube neutrinos with radio sources observed at Owens Valley and Metsähovi Radio Observatories

Identifying the most likely sources for high-energy neutrino emission has been one of the main topics in high-energy astrophysics ever since the first observation of high-energy neutrinos by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. Active galactic nuclei with relativistic jets, also known as blazars, have been considered to be one of the main candidates because of their ability to accelerate particles to high energies. We study the connection between radio emission and IceCube neutrino events using data from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO) and Metsähovi Radio Observatory blazar monitoring programs. We identify sources in our radio monitoring sample that are positionally consistent with IceCube high-energy neutrino events. We estimate their mean flux density and variability amplitudes around the neutrino arrival time, and compare these with values from random samples to establish the significance of our results. We find radio source associations within our samples with 15 high-energy neutrino events detected by IceCube. Nearly half of the associated sources are not detected in the $γ$-ray energies, but their radio variability properties and Doppler boosting factors are similar to the $γ$-ray detected objects in our sample, meaning that they could still be potential neutrino emitters. We find that the number of strongly flaring objects in our statistically complete OVRO samples is unlikely to be a random coincidence (at $2σ$ level). Based on our results, we conclude that although it is clear that not all neutrino events are associated with strong radio flaring blazars, observations of large-amplitude radio flares in a blazar at the same time as a neutrino event are unlikely to be a random coincidence.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2020

The Relativistic Jet Orientation and Host Galaxy of the Peculiar Blazar PKS 1413+135

PKS 1413+135 is one of the most peculiar blazars known. Its strange properties led to the hypothesis almost four decades ago that it is gravitationally lensed by a mass concentration associated with an intervening galaxy. It exhibits symmetric achromatic variability, a rare form of variability that has been attributed to gravitational milli-lensing. It has been classified as a BL Lac object, and is one of the rare objects in this class with a visible counterjet. BL Lac objects have jet axes aligned close to the line of sight. It has also been classified as a compact symmetric object, which have jet axes not aligned close to the line of sight. Intensive efforts to understand this blazar have hitherto failed to resolve even the questions of the orientation of the relativistic jet, and the host galaxy. Answering these two questions is important as they challenge our understanding of jets in active galactic nuclei and the classification schemes we use to describe them. We show that the jet axis is aligned close to the line of sight and PKS 1413+135 is almost certainly not located in the apparent host galaxy, but is a background object in the redshift range $0.247 < z < 0.5$. The intervening spiral galaxy at $z = 0.247$ provides a natural host for the putative lens responsible for symmetric achromatic variability and is shown to be a Seyfert 2 galaxy. We also show that, as for the radio emission, a "multizone" model is needed to account for the high-energy emission.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

37 GHz observations of narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies

Observations at 37 GHz, performed at Metsähovi Radio Observatory, are presented for a sample of 78 radio-loud and radio-quiet narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxies, together with additional lower and higher frequency radio data from RATAN-600, Owens Valley Radio Observatory, and the Planck satellite. Most of the data have been gathered between February 2012 and April 2015 but for some sources even longer lightcurves exist. The detection rate at 37 GHz is around 19%, comparable to other populations of active galactic nuclei presumed to be faint at radio frequencies, such as BL Lac objects. Variability and spectral indices are determined for sources with enough detections. Based on the radio data, many NLS1 galaxies show a blazar-like radio spectra exhibiting significant variability. The spectra at a given time are often inverted or convex. The source of the high-frequency radio emission in NLS1 galaxies, detected at 37 GHz, is most probably a relativistic jet rather than star formation. Jets in NLS1 galaxies are therefore expected to be a much more common phenomenon than earlier assumed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Symmetric Achromatic Variability in Active Galaxies -- A Powerful New Gravitational Lensing Probe?

We report the discovery of a rare new form of long-term radio variability in the light-curves of active galaxies (AG) --- Symmetric Achromatic Variability (SAV) --- a pair of opposed and strongly skewed peaks in the radio flux density observed over a broad frequency range. We propose that SAV arises through gravitational milli-lensing when relativistically moving features in AG jets move through gravitational lensing caustics created by $10^3-10^6 \;{\rm M}_{\odot}$ subhalo condensates or black holes located within intervening galaxies. The lower end of this mass range has been inaccessible with previous gravitational lensing techniques. This new interpretation of some AG variability can easily be tested and if it passes these tests, will enable a new and powerful probe of cosmological matter distribution on these intermediate mass scales, as well as provide, for the first time, micro-arcsecond resolution of the nuclei of AG --- a factor of 30--100 greater resolution than is possible with ground-based millimeter VLBI.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2017

The peculiar light-curve of J1415+1320: A case study in extreme scattering events

The radio light-curve of J1415+1320 (PKS 1413+135) shows time-symmetric and recurring U-shaped features across the cm-wave and mm-wave bands. The symmetry of these features points to lensing by an intervening object as the cause. U-shaped events in radio light curves in the cm-wave band have previously been attributed to Extreme scattering events (ESE). ESEs are thought to be the result of lensing by compact plasma structures in the Galactic interstellar medium, but the precise nature of these plasma structures remains unknown. Since the strength of a plasma lens evolves with wavelength $λ$ as $λ^2$, the presence of correlated variations at over a wide wavelength range casts doubt on the canonical ESE interpretation for J1415+1320. In this paper, we critically examine the evidence for plasma lensing in J1415+1320. We compute limits on the lensing strength, and the associated free-free opacity of the putative plasma lenses. We compare the observed and model ESE light curves, and also derive a lower limit on the lens distance based on the effects of parallax due to the Earth's orbit around the Sun. We conclude that plasma lensing is not a viable interpretation for J1415+1320's light curves and that symmetric U-shaped features in the radio light curves of extragalactic sources do not present {\em prima facie} evidence for ESEs. The methodology presented here is generic enough to be applicable to any plasma lensing candidate.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The awakening of the gamma-ray narrow-Line Seyfert 1 galaxy PKS 1502+036

After a long low-activity period, a gamma-ray flare from the narrow-line Seyfert 1 PKS 1502+036 (z=0.4089) was detected by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board Fermi in 2015. On 2015 December 20 the source reached a daily peak flux, in the 0.1-300 GeV band, of (93 $\pm$ 19) $\times$10$^{-8}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, attaining a flux of (237 $\pm$ 71) $\times$10$^{-8}$ ph cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ on 3-hr time-scales, which corresponds to an isotropic luminosity of (7.3 $\pm$ 2.1) $\times$10$^{47}$ erg/s. The gamma-ray flare was not accompanied by significant spectral changes. We report on multi-wavelength radio-to-gamma-ray observations of PKS 1502+036 during 2008 August-2016 March by Fermi-LAT, Swift, XMM-Newton, Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey, and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO). An increase in activity was observed on 2015 December 22 by Swift in optical, UV, and X-rays. The OVRO 15 GHz light curve reached the highest flux density observed from this source on 2016 January 12, indicating a delay of about three weeks between the gamma-ray and 15 GHz emission peaks. This suggests that the gamma-ray emitting region is located beyond the broad line region. We compared the spectral energy distribution (SED) of an average activity state with that of the flaring state. The two SED, with the high-energy bump modelled as an external Compton component with seed photons from a dust torus, could be fitted by changing the electron distribution parameters as well as the magnetic field. The fit of the disc emission during the average state constrains the black hole mass to values lower than 10$^8$ solar masses. The SED, high-energy emission mechanisms, and gamma-ray properties of the source resemble those of a flat spectrum radio quasar.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

Gamma rays from the quasar PKS 1441+25: story of an escape

Outbursts from gamma-ray quasars provide insights on the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei and constraints on the diffuse radiation fields that fill the Universe. The detection of significant emission above 100 GeV from a distant quasar would show that some of the radiated gamma rays escape pair-production interactions with low-energy photons, be it the extragalactic background light (EBL), or the radiation near the supermassive black hole lying at the jet's base. VERITAS detected gamma-ray emission up to 200 GeV from PKS 1441+25 (z=0.939) during April 2015, a period of high activity across all wavelengths. This observation of PKS 1441+25 suggests that the emission region is located thousands of Schwarzschild radii away from the black hole. The gamma-ray detection also sets a stringent upper limit on the near-ultraviolet to near-infrared EBL intensity, suggesting that galaxy surveys have resolved most, if not all, of the sources of the EBL at these wavelengths.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2015

The Q/U Imaging ExperimenT: Polarization Measurements of the Galactic Plane at 43 and 95 GHz

We present polarization observations of two Galactic plane fields centered on Galactic coordinates (l,b)=(0 deg,0 deg) and (329 deg, 0 deg) at Q- (43 GHz) and W-band (95 GHz), covering between 301 and 539 square degrees depending on frequency and field. These measurements were made with the QUIET instrument between 2008 October and 2010 December, and include a total of 1263 hours of observations. The resulting maps represent the deepest large-area Galactic polarization observations published to date at the relevant frequencies with instrumental rms noise varying between 1.8 and 2.8 uK deg, 2.3-6 times deeper than corresponding WMAP and Planck maps. The angular resolution is 27.3' and 12.8' FWHM at Q- and W-band, respectively. We find excellent agreement between the QUIET and WMAP maps over the entire fields, and no compelling evidence for significant residual instrumental systematic errors in either experiment, whereas the Planck 44 GHz map deviates from these in a manner consistent with reported systematic uncertainties for this channel. We combine QUIET and WMAP data to compute inverse-variance-weighted average maps, effectively retaining small angular scales from QUIET and large angular scales from WMAP. From these combined maps, we derive constraints on several important astrophysical quantities, including a robust detection of polarized synchrotron spectral index steepening of ~0.2 off the plane, as well as the Faraday rotation measure toward the Galactic center (RM=-4000 +/- 200 rad m^-2), all of which are consistent with previously published results. Both the raw QUIET and the co-added QUIET+WMAP maps are made publicly available together with all necessary ancillary information.

astro-ph.CO↗