Abstract for Proposal 096099
Disc precession or a sub-milliparsec SMBH binary in a QPE galactic nucleus
A recent, detailed analysis of X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs)
in GSN 069, the first galactic nucleus in which QPEs were identified,
reveals that their arrival times are consistent with being modulated on
a ~19-20 d timescale. Within the context of the leading secondary-disc
impacts model for QPEs, this can only occur if an external modulation is
present. We propose XMM-Newton observations to unambiguously distinguish
between the two scenarios that are consistent with current data:
disc precession or orbital motion of the QPE-emitting system within a
supermassive black hole binary with sub-milliparsec separation.
Details on Observing Strategy and Trigger Criteria
There are no triggering criteria available for this proposal yet.