What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to identify and analyze dual active galactic nuclei to enhance understanding of galaxy and supermassive black hole coevolution.

March 30, 2026Open Access

Dual Active Galactic Nuclei on 100 kpc Scales from the Million Quasar Catalog

Key Points

This research aims to identify and analyze dual active galactic nuclei to enhance understanding of galaxy and supermassive black hole coevolution.
Selected 171 new dual active galactic nuclei from the Million Quasars Catalog.
Conducted visual inspection using optical images from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument.
Performed statistical analyses on dual AGN demographics, focusing on low redshift galaxies.
Identified 171 new dual AGNs including four triplets and one quadruplet.
Found that 16% of the pairs exhibit tidal features.
Detected an increasing number of dual AGNs with decreasing redshift, with notable velocity differences primarily below 300 km/s.

Abstract

Abstract Research on dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is crucial for understanding the coevolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. However, the current number of dual AGNs remains scarce. In this work, we selected 171 new dual AGNs, four AGN triplets, and one AGN quadruplet from the Million Quasars Catalog, all with low redshift ( z h 70 − 1 kpc, but drops to one pair at > 55 h 70 − 1 kpc. Our study also explores the wide separation ( r p > 10 kpc) dual AGNs, finding 164 such systems, with 25 displaying clear tidal features. Furthermore, some extra galaxies, AGNs, and/or their candidates were found in the same regions of the pairs or multiplets, forming interacting systems with these pairs or multiplets.

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