hide
Free keywords:
-
Abstract:
Violent galaxy merger are known to play a vital role in the cosmological evolution of galaxies. Since almost every bright galaxy seems to contain a supermassive black hole, frequent formation of supermassive binary black holes (SBBHs) is naturally expected to occur during cosmic times. In this talk I will discuss phenomenological evidence for the presence of SMBBs in active galactic nuclei (AGN). While the existence of wide (resolved) SBBHs may today be considered as sufficiently established, the situation is much more ambiguous with respect to the anticipated existence of close (separation < 1 pc) SBBHs. I will discuss indirect hints for the possible presence of such systems in blazars, including periodic variability and divergent central mass estimates, and talk about its relevance for binary evolution scenarios and new experimental strategies.
