Quasi-periodic X-ray eruptions years after a nearby tidal disruption event

Nicholl, M.; Pasham, D. R.; Mummery, A.; Guolo, M.; Gendreau, K.; Dewangan, G. C.; Ferrara, E. C.; Remillard, R.; Bonnerot, C.; Chakraborty, J.; Hajela, A.; Dhillon, V. S.; Gillan, A. F.; Greenwood, J.; Huber, M. E.; Janiuk, A.; Salvesen, G.; Velzen, S.; Aamer, A.; Alexander, K. D.; Angus, C. R.; Arzoumanian, Z.; Auchettl, K.; Berger, E.; Boer, T.; Cendes, Y.; Chambers, K. C.; Chen, T.-W.; Chornock, R.; Fulton, M. D.; Gao, H.; Gillanders, J. H.; Gomez, S.; Gompertz, B. P.; Fabian, A. C.; Herman, J.; Ingram, A.; Kara, E.; Laskar, T.; Lawrence, A.; Lin, C.-C.; Lowe, T. B.; Magnier, E. A.; Margutti, R.; McGee, S. L.; Minguez, P.; Moore, T.; Nathan, E.; Oates, S. R.; Patra, K. C.; Ramsden, P.; Ravi, V.; Ridley, E. J.; Sheng, X.; Smartt, S. J.; Smith, K. W.; Srivastav, S.; Stein, R.; Stevance, H. F.; Turner, S. G. D.; Wainscoat, R. J.; Weston, J.; Wevers, T.; Young, D. R.

Quasi-periodic X-ray eruptions years after a nearby tidal disruption event

M. Nicholl (), D. R. Pasham, A. Mummery, M. Guolo, K. Gendreau, G. C. Dewangan, E. C. Ferrara, R. Remillard, C. Bonnerot, J. Chakraborty, A. Hajela, V. S. Dhillon, A. F. Gillan, J. Greenwood, M. E. Huber, A. Janiuk, G. Salvesen, S. Velzen, A. Aamer, K. D. Alexander, C. R. Angus, Z. Arzoumanian, K. Auchettl, E. Berger, T. Boer, Y. Cendes, K. C. Chambers, T.-W. Chen, R. Chornock, M. D. Fulton, H. Gao, J. H. Gillanders, S. Gomez, B. P. Gompertz, A. C. Fabian, J. Herman, A. Ingram, E. Kara, T. Laskar, A. Lawrence, C.-C. Lin, T. B. Lowe, E. A. Magnier, R. Margutti, S. L. McGee, P. Minguez, T. Moore, E. Nathan, S. R. Oates, K. C. Patra, P. Ramsden, V. Ravi, E. J. Ridley, X. Sheng, S. J. Smartt, K. W. Smith, S. Srivastav, R. Stein, H. F. Stevance, S. G. D. Turner, R. J. Wainscoat, J. Weston, T. Wevers and D. R. Young
Additional contact information
M. Nicholl: Queen’s University Belfast
D. R. Pasham: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A. Mummery: Oxford University
M. Guolo: Johns Hopkins University
K. Gendreau: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
G. C. Dewangan: Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA)
E. C. Ferrara: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
R. Remillard: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
C. Bonnerot: University of Birmingham
J. Chakraborty: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A. Hajela: University of Copenhagen
V. S. Dhillon: University of Sheffield
A. F. Gillan: Queen’s University Belfast
J. Greenwood: Queen’s University Belfast
M. E. Huber: University of Hawaii
A. Janiuk: Polish Academy of Sciences
G. Salvesen: Los Alamos National Laboratory
S. Velzen: Leiden University
A. Aamer: Queen’s University Belfast
K. D. Alexander: University of Arizona
C. R. Angus: Queen’s University Belfast
Z. Arzoumanian: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
K. Auchettl: The University of Melbourne
E. Berger: Harvard & Smithsonian
T. Boer: University of Hawaii
Y. Cendes: Harvard & Smithsonian
K. C. Chambers: University of Hawaii
T.-W. Chen: National Central University
R. Chornock: University of California, Berkeley
M. D. Fulton: Queen’s University Belfast
H. Gao: University of Hawaii
J. H. Gillanders: University of Oxford
S. Gomez: Space Telescope Science Institute
B. P. Gompertz: University of Birmingham
A. C. Fabian: University of Cambridge
J. Herman: University of Hawaii
A. Ingram: Newcastle University
E. Kara: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
T. Laskar: The University of Utah
A. Lawrence: University of Edinburgh
C.-C. Lin: University of Hawaii
T. B. Lowe: University of Hawaii
E. A. Magnier: University of Hawaii
R. Margutti: University of California, Berkeley
S. L. McGee: University of Birmingham
P. Minguez: University of Hawaii
T. Moore: Queen’s University Belfast
E. Nathan: California Institute of Technology
S. R. Oates: Lancaster University
K. C. Patra: University of California, Berkeley
P. Ramsden: Queen’s University Belfast
V. Ravi: California Institute of Technology
E. J. Ridley: University of Birmingham
X. Sheng: Queen’s University Belfast
S. J. Smartt: Queen’s University Belfast
K. W. Smith: Queen’s University Belfast
S. Srivastav: Queen’s University Belfast
R. Stein: California Institute of Technology
H. F. Stevance: Queen’s University Belfast
S. G. D. Turner: University of Cambridge
R. J. Wainscoat: University of Hawaii
J. Weston: Queen’s University Belfast
T. Wevers: Space Telescope Science Institute
D. R. Young: Queen’s University Belfast

Nature, 2024, vol. 634, issue 8035, 804-808

Abstract: Abstract Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are luminous bursts of soft X-rays from the nuclei of galaxies, repeating on timescales of hours to weeks1–5. The mechanism behind these rare systems is uncertain, but most theories involve accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) undergoing instabilities6–8 or interacting with a stellar object in a close orbit9–11. It has been suggested that this disk could be created when the SMBH disrupts a passing star8,11, implying that many QPEs should be preceded by observable tidal disruption events (TDEs). Two known QPE sources show long-term decays in quiescent luminosity consistent with TDEs4,12 and two observed TDEs have exhibited X-ray flares consistent with individual eruptions13,14. TDEs and QPEs also occur preferentially in similar galaxies15. However, no confirmed repeating QPEs have been associated with a spectroscopically confirmed TDE or an optical TDE observed at peak brightness. Here we report the detection of nine X-ray QPEs with a mean recurrence time of approximately 48 h from AT2019qiz, a nearby and extensively studied optically selected TDE16. We detect and model the X-ray, ultraviolet (UV) and optical emission from the accretion disk and show that an orbiting body colliding with this disk provides a plausible explanation for the QPEs.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08023-6

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