The Quasar Proximity Effect as an Alternative Probe of Quasar Pair Distances

Recently discovered quasar pairs at high redshifts ($z\gtrsim$5) are likely precursors to supermassive black hole mergers, providing a promising window to high redshift quasar growth mechanisms. However, the large uncertainties on their relative distances along the line-of-sight ($d_{\rm l.o.s.}$) limits our ability to characterize quasar pairs. In this study, we explore synthetic quasar proximity zone spectra as an alternative method to constrain the line-of-sight distance of quasar pairs. We find that for small sky-plane separations ($d_{\rm sky}\approx 10-100$ pkpc), a simple peak finding algorithm can easily distinguish between scenarios of $d_{\rm l.o.s.} \lesssim1$ pMpc and $\gtrsim1$ pMpc. For cases where the true $d_{\rm l.o.s.} \geq 3$ pMpc, the accuracy of $d_{\rm l.o.s.}$ estimation is $\approx 0.2$ pMpc. Large sky-plane separations of $d_{\rm sky}=1$ pMpc have larger absolute uncertainties in $d_{\rm l.o.s.}$ estimates, but the method can still easily distinguish between scenarios where $d_{\rm l.o.s.}\lesssim4$ pMpc and $\gtrsim4$ pMpc. $d_{\rm l.o.s.}$ estimates have an uncertainty of $\approx$0.5 pMpc when true $d_{\rm l.o.s.} \gtrsim4$ pMpc. Our proof-of-concept study illustrates the potential use of quasar proximity zones to constrain the 3-dimensional quasar pair configuration, providing an avenue to characterize quasar pairs.