A Numerical Simulation of the Brightness Variations of OJ 287

Abstract

A numerical simulation of the binary black hole model of the blazar OJ 287 is presented. In this model, the observed major outbursts are identified with the pericenter passages of the secondary black hole, and the superflares are identified with its disk crossings. In the simulation, a disk of particles interacting with the black holes is used to generate the light curve. The simulation reproduces satisfactorily the observed light curve of OJ 287 and predicted the outbursts in 1995-1996 with high accuracy.