Binaries containing a compact object orbiting a supermassive black hole are thought to be precursors of gravitational wave events, but their identification has been extremely challenging. Here, we report quasi-periodic variability in x-ray absorption, which we interpret as quasi-periodic outflows (QPOuts) from a previously low-luminosity active galactic nucleus after an outburst, likely caused by a stellar tidal disruption. We rule out several models based on observed properties and instead show using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations that QPOuts, separated by roughly 8.3 days, can be explained with an intermediate-mass black hole secondary on a mildly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about 100 gravitational radii from the primary. Our work suggests that QPOuts could be a new way to identify intermediate/extreme-mass ratio binary candidates.

中文翻译：

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通过准周期性流出揭示的双黑洞系统案例

包含围绕超大质量黑洞运行的致密天体的双星被认为是引力波事件的前兆，但它们的识别极具挑战性。在这里，我们报告了 X 射线吸收的准周期变化，我们将其解释为爆发后先前低光度活动星系核的准周期流出（QPOut），这可能是由恒星潮汐破坏引起的。我们排除了基于观测到的特性的几个模型，而是使用一般相对论磁流体动力学模拟表明，间隔大约 8.3 天的 QPOut 可以用平均质量距离约为 100 个引力场的中等偏心轨道上的中等质量黑洞来解释。距初级的半径。我们的工作表明 QPOuts 可能是识别中间/极端质量比二元候选的新方法。