The peculiar optical spectrum of 4C+22.25: Imprint of a massive black hole binary?

We report the discovery of peculiar features in the optical spectrum of 4C+22.25, a flat spectrum radio quasar at z=0.4183 observed in the SDSS and in a dedicated spectroscopic follow-up from the Nordic Optical Telescope. The Hbeta and Halpha lines show broad profiles (FWHM~12,000 km/s), faint fluxes and extreme offsets (Delta v=8,700+/-1,300 km/s) with respect to the narrow emission lines. These features show no significant variation in a time lag of ~3.1 yr (rest frame). We rule out possible interpretations based on the superposition of two sources or on recoiling black holes, and...

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Radial Velocity Studies and their Limits: A Case Study of BP Psc

Radial velocity studies have provided the majority of all exoplanet discoveries. Using the radial velocity techniques on young stars suffers from problems with magnetic activity jitter, which has been studied for years, and the effects of circumstellar disks, which has remained unstudied. Here we study the disk-embedded star BP Psc using high resolution, high accuracy HARPS spectra. We derive radial velocities, activity indices, and line profile information. We find that the presence of a disk severely limits information about the star. We find that even the line profiles are...

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RRPictoris: an old nova showing superhumps and QPOs

We present time-resolved V photometry of the old nova RRPictoris (RRPic). Apart from the hump-like variability, the light curves show the strong flickering and random variation typical for RRPic. We do not find any convincing evidence for the previously reported eclipse. The extrapolated eclipse phase coincides with a broad minimum, but comparing the overall shape of the light curve suggests that the eclipse should actually be located around phase 0.2. The orbital period which we derive from these data agrees well with the old one, any uncertainty is too small to account for the...

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