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Hierarchical galaxy mergers will lead to the formation of binary and, in thecase of a subsequent merger before a binary coalesce, triple supermassive blackholes (SMBHs), given that most massive galaxies harbor SMBHs. A triple of SMBHsbecomes visible as a triple active galactic nucleus (AGN) when the BHs accretelarge amounts of gas at the same time. Here we report the discovery of akpc-scale triple AGN, SDSSJ1027+1749 at z = 0.066, from our systematic searchfor hierarchical mergers of AGNs. The galaxy contains three emission-linenuclei, two of which are offset by ~ 450 and 110 km/s in velocity and by 2.4and 3.0 kpc in projected separation from the central nucleus. All three nucleiare classified as obscured AGNs based on optical diagnostic emission lineratios, with black hole mass estimates M_BH ~> 10^8 M_sun from stellar velocitydispersions measured in the associated stellar components. Based on dynamicalfriction timescale estimates, the three stellar components in SDSSJ1027+1749will merge in ~ 40 Myr, and their associated SMBHs may evolve into agravitationally interacting triple system in ~< 200 Myr. Our result sets alower limit of ~ 5 x 10^(-5) for the fraction of kpc-scale triples in opticallyselected AGNs at z ~ 0.1.

Cosmic Train Wreck by Massive Black Holes: Discovery of a kpc-Scale Triple Active Galactic Nucleus