Euclid: Quick Data Release (Q1) – Dual active galactic nuclei in low-mass galaxies★

Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are expected in hierarchical galaxy evolution models, in which low-mass galaxies merge to build more massive ones. While observational evidence for dual AGNs is growing in massive galaxies, no clear detection has yet been found in the low-mass regime. We used photometry and spectroscopy from the first Euclid Quick Data Release, combined with a collection of multi-wavelength data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), the LOw-Frequency ARray (LOFAR) high band antenna, and counterparts in X-ray and mid-infrared catalogues to identify dual AGNs at redshift z ≲ 1. Focusing on low-mass galaxies with stellar masses below 10¹⁰ M_⊙, we find nine dual AGN candidates with projected separations ranging from ∼20 to 51 kpc. We also find 49 dual AGN candidates in more massive galaxies. We derive a dual AGN fraction of 0.1% for the low-mass galaxies and estimate that these systems likely trace a population of progenitor black hole pairs that may evolve into bound binaries and eventually coalesce, emitting gravitational waves in the LISA band. These results constitute the first sample of spectroscopically confirmed dual AGN candidates in low-mass galaxies and have important implications for models in which supermassive black holes grow from lower-mass black holes located in low-mass galaxies, as well as for predictions of gravitational waves from low-mass binary black holes.