2005/11/09 by Martin G. Haehnelt, M. B. Davies, Melvyn B. Davies +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2005.00124.x
published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc.Lett.366:L22-L25,2006 · 4 pages, LaTeX, no figures; MNRAS in press
arxiv created 2005/11/09 · openalex publication_date 2005/12/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Abstract Attempts of Magain et al. to detect the host galaxy of the bright quasi-stellar object (QSO) HE0450–2958 have not been successful. We suggest that the supermassive black hole (SMBH) powering the QSO was ejected from the observed ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) at the same redshift and at 1.5 arcsec distance. Ejection could have been caused either by recoil due to gravitational wave emission from a coalescing binary of SMBHs or the gravitational slingshot of three or more SMBHs in the ongoing merger of galaxies which triggered the starburst activity in the ULIRG. We discuss implications for the possible hierarchical build-up of SMBHs from intermediate and/or stellar mass black holes, and for the detection of coalescing supermassive binary black holes by LISA.