A spinning supermassive black hole binary model consistent with VLBI observations of the S5 1928+738 jet

Abstract

Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) allows for high-resolution and high-sensitivity observations of relativistic jets, that can reveal periodicities of several years in their structure. We perform an analysis of long-term VLBI data of the quasar S5 1928+738 in terms of a geometric model of a helical structure projected onto the plane of the sky. We monitor the direction of the jet axis through its inclination and position angles. We decompose the variation of the inclination of the inner 2 mas of the jet of S5 1928+738 into a periodic term with amplitude of ∼0| $_{.}^{\circ}$|89 and a linear decreasing trend with rate of ∼0| $_{.}^{\circ}$|05 yr−1. We also decompose the variation of the position angle into a periodic term with amplitude of ∼3| $_{.}^{\circ}$|39 and a linear increasing trend with rate of ∼0| $_{.}^{\circ}$|24 yr−1. We interpret the periodic components as arising from the orbital motion of a binary black hole inspiralling at the jet base and derive corrected values of the mass ratio and separation from the accumulated 18 yr of VLBI data. Then, we identify the linear trends in the variations as due to the slow reorientation of the spin of the jet emitter black hole induced by the spin–orbit precession and we determine the precession period TSO = 4852 ± 646 yr of the more massive black hole, acting as the jet emitter. Our study provides indications, for the first time from VLBI jet kinematics, for the spinning nature of the jet-emitting black hole.