We present AGN from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) having doublepeaked profiles of [O iii] λλ 5007, 4959 and other narrow emission-lines, motivated by the prospect of finding candidate binary AGN. These objects were identified by means of a visual examination of 21,592 quasars at z < 0.7 in SDSS Data Release 7 (DR7). Of the spectra with adequate signal-to-noise, 148 spectra exhibit a double-peaked [O iii] profile. Of these, 86 are Type 1 AGN and 62 are Type 2 AGN. Only two give the appearance of possibly being optically resolved double AGN in the SDSS images, but many show close companions or signs of recent interaction. Radio-detected quasars are three times more likely to exhibit a double-peaked [O iii] profile than quasars with no detected radio flux, suggesting a role for jet interactions in producing the double-peaked profiles. Of the 66 broad line (Type 1) AGN that are undetected in the FIRST survey, 0.9% show double peaked [O iii] profiles. We discuss statistical tests of the nature of the double-peaked objects. Further study is needed to determine which of them are binary AGN rather than disturbed narrow line regions, and how many additional binaries may remain undetected because of insufficient line-of-sight velocity splitting.Previous studies indicate that 0.1% of SDSS quasars are spatially resolved binaries, with typical spacings of ∼ 10 to 100 kpc. If a substantial fraction of the double-peaked objects are indeed binaries, then our results imply that binaries occur more frequently at smaller separations (< 10 kpc). This suggests that simultaneous fueling of both black holes is more common as the binary orbit decays through these spacings.

We present a comprehensive analysis of 21 light curves of Type 1 AGN from the Kepler spacecraft. First, we describe the necessity and development of a customized pipeline for treating Kepler data of stochastically variable sources like AGN. We then present the light curves, power spectral density functions (PSDs), and flux histograms. The light curves display an astonishing variety of behaviors, many of which would not be detected in ground-based studies, including switching between distinct flux levels. Six objects exhibit PSD flattening at characteristic timescales which roughly correlate with black hole mass. These timescales are consistent with orbital timescales or freefall accretion timescales. We check for correlations of variability and high-frequency PSD slope with accretion rate, black hole mass, redshift and luminosity. We find that bolometric luminosity is anticorrelated with both variability and steepness of the PSD slope. We do not find evidence of the linear rmsflux relationships or lognormal flux distributions found in X-ray AGN light curves, indicating that reprocessing is not a significant contributor to optical variability at the 0.1−10% level.

We present time series analyses of the full Kepler dataset of Zw 229−15. This Kepler light curvewith a baseline greater than three years, composed of virtually continuous, evenly sampled 30-minute measurements -is unprecedented in its quality and precision. We utilize two methods of power spectral analysis to investigate the optical variability and search for evidence of a bend frequency associated with a characteristic optical variability timescale. Each method yields similar results. The first interpolates across data gaps to use the standard Fourier periodogram. The second, using the CARMA-based time-domain modeling technique of Kelly et al. (2014), does not need evenly-sampled data. Both methods find excess power at high frequencies that may be due to Kepler instrumental effects. More importantly both also show strong bends (∆α ∼ 2) at timescales of ∼ 5 days, a feature similar to those seen in the X-ray PSDs of AGN but never before in the optical. This observed ∼ 5 day timescale may be associated with one of several physical processes potentially responsible for the variability. A plausible association could be made with light-crossing, dynamical or thermal timescales, depending on the assumed value of the accretion disk size and on unobserved disk parameters such as α and H/R. This timescale is not consistent with the viscous timescale, which would be years in a ∼ 10 7 M ⊙ AGN such as Zw 229−15. However there must be a second bend on long ( 1 year) timescales, and that feature could be associated with the viscous timescale.

We report on the study of an intriguing active galaxy that was selected as a potential multiple supermassive black hole merger in the early-type host SDSS J151709.20+335324.7 (z = 0.135) from a complete search for double-peaked [O III] lines from the SDSS spectroscopic QSO database. Ground-based SDSS imaging reveals two blue structures on either side of the photometric center of the host galaxy, separated from each other by about 5.7 kpc. From a combination of SDSS fibre and Keck/HIRES long-slit spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that, in addition to these two features, a third distinct structure surrounds the nucleus of the host galaxy. All three structures exhibit highly-ionized line emission with line ratios characteristic of Seyfert II AGN. The analysis of spatially resolved emission line profiles from the HIRES spectrum reveal three distinct kinematic subcomponents, one at rest and the other two moving at -350 kms −1 and 500 kms −1 with respect to the systemic velocity of the host galaxy. A comparison of imaging and spectral data confirm a strong association between the kinematic components and the spatial knots, which implies a highly disturbed and complex active region in this object. A comparative analysis of the broadband positions, colors, kinematics and spectral properties of the knots in this system lead to two plausible explanations: a.) a multiple-AGN produced due to a massive dry merger, or, b.) a very powerful radio jet-driven outflow. Subsequent VLA radio imaging reveals a clear jet aligned with the emission line gas, confirming the latter explanation. We use the broadband radio measurements to examine the impact of the jet on the ISM of the host galaxy, and find that the energy in the radio lobes can heat a significant fraction of the gas to the virial temperature. Finally, we discuss tests that may help future surveys distinguish between jet-driven kinematics and true black-hole binaries. J1517+3353 is a remarkable laboratory for AGN feedback and warrants deeper follow-up study.In the Appendix, we present high-resolution radio imaging of a second AGN with double-peaked [O III] lines, SDSS J112939.78+605742.6, which shows a sub-arcsecond radio jet. If the double-peaked nature of the narrow lines in radio-loud AGN are generally due to radio jet interactions, we suggest that extended radio structure should be expected in most of such systems.