The aim of this research project was to investigate the presence of enhanced radio jet activity due to the merging of quasars. Through the results obtained we deduced that astrophysical phenomena (in our study) change as the separation between interacting quasars changes i.e. we note the effect of the merging of AGN by noting the change in activity of interacting galaxies.
SMBH grow by merging with other black holes or by accretion of matter which is the process of attracting mater via a gravitational force leading to a growth of the attracting agent, and this growth promotes activity in the host galaxy. The results show that there is a change/ enhancement in the AGN activity. The increase in AGN activity is directly linked to a reduced separation between interacting quasars – i.e. an increase in the activity of the two interacting central SMBHs leads to increased overall activity in the merging galaxies of which jet activity forms a part of. We thus accredit an enhancement in radio jet activity to AGN merging events.
The results are not surprising as similar conclusions were reached in studies done in the X-ray range \cite{Koss_2012, Liu_2011}. We further note that since mergers increase AGN activity which translates to enhanced (increased) activity, perhaps the most active AGN today may be the result of the merging of smaller galaxies.
one of the main challenges in the study was the physical limitations of the SDSS. We could not obtain observations at smaller projected separations as small separations are difficult to resolve using current SDSS technology. This in turn restricted the study to AGN pairs with certain projected separation. There were also clear selection effects and biases, however, the re-sample and analyze the data, the more we overcome these.
In conclusion, the result from our post-merger data leads us to postulate that enhanced AGN activity continues as AGN merge. This postulate is investigated further in Deane et al. (2015) and is a basis for the investigation of gravitational waves.