17 March 2026
Konkoly Observatory
Europe/Budapest timezone
Supported by the Lendület Programme of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

VLBI Imaging Studies of Dual and Multiple AGN Systems

17 Mar 2026, 15:45
15m
Detre Hall (Konkoly Observatory)

Detre Hall

Konkoly Observatory

Speaker

Wancheng Xu (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Konkoly Observatory, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences)

Description

Dual and multiple active galactic nuclei (AGN) in merger systems play a crucial role in our understanding of supermassive black hole growth and evolution. However, the current scarcity of confirmed samples limits statistical studies. In this talk, I will present an overview of my ongoing research using high-resolution Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) to characterize and confirm scarce dual-AGN populations, including high-redshift dual quasars, sub-kpc-scale close AGN pairs, and radio-faint candidates. For the complex and rare triple AGN candidates, we have proposed deep VLBI imaging observations, which are expected to reveal their milliarcsecond-scale radio emission properties. Finally, I will briefly highlight our recently completed work on measuring blazar magnetic field properties using archival single-dish and VLBI data.

Author

Wancheng Xu (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Konkoly Observatory, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences)

Co-authors

Dr Sándor Frey (Konkoly Observatory, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences) Prof. Lang Cui (Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Presentation materials