scholarly journals Extreme variability in an active galactic nucleus: Gaia16aax

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 477-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
G Cannizzaro ◽  
M Fraser ◽  
P G Jonker ◽  
J E Pringle ◽  
S Mattila ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Transient Event ◽  
Balmer Lines ◽  
Extreme Variability ◽  
Event Variable ◽  
Dust Absorption

ABSTRACT We present the results of a multiwavelength follow-up campaign for the luminous nuclear transient Gaia16aax, which was first identified in 2016 January. The transient is spatially consistent with the nucleus of an active galaxy at z = 0.25, hosting a black hole of mass ${\sim }6\times 10^8\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$. The nucleus brightened by more than 1 mag in the Gaia G band over a time-scale of less than 1 yr, before fading back to its pre-outburst state over the following 3 yr. The optical spectra of the source show broad Balmer lines similar to the ones present in a pre-outburst spectrum. During the outburst, the H α and H β emission lines develop a secondary peak. We also report on the discovery of two transients with similar light-curve evolution and spectra: Gaia16aka and Gaia16ajq. We consider possible scenarios to explain the observed outbursts. We exclude that the transient event could be caused by a microlensing event, variable dust absorption or a tidal encounter between a neutron star and a stellar mass black hole in the accretion disc. We consider variability in the accretion flow in the inner part of the disc, or a tidal disruption event of a star ${\ge } 1 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ by a rapidly spinning supermassive black hole as the most plausible scenarios. We note that the similarity between the light curves of the three Gaia transients may be a function of the Gaia alerts selection criteria.

scholarly journals Near-Eddington Luminosity Flares from Quiescent Supermassive Black Holes

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 319-324
Author(s):  
Suvi Gezari
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Rare Event ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Solar Type ◽  
Detection Capabilities

AbstractA dormant supermassive black hole lurking in the center of a galaxy will be revealed when a star passes within its tidal disruption radius, is disrupted, and a flare of electromagnetic radiation is emitted when the bound stellar debris is accreted. Although the tidal disruption of a star is a rare event in a galaxy, ~ 10−4 yr−1, observational candidates have emerged in all-sky X-ray and deep UV surveys in the form of luminous UV/X-ray flares from otherwise quiescent galaxies. We present the light curves and broadband properties of three tidal disruption candidates discovered in the UV by GALEX, and find that (1) the light curves are well-fitted by the power-law decline expected for the fallback of debris from a tidally disrupted solar-type star, and (2) the UV/optical spectral energy distributions can be attributed to thermal emission from an envelope of debris located at ten times the tidal disruption radius of the central black hole. We use the observed peak absolute optical magnitudes of the flares to predict the detection capabilities of the next generation of wide-field optical synoptic surveys.

scholarly journals X-ray flares from the stellar tidal disruption by a candidate supermassive black hole binary

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinwen Shu ◽  
Wenjie Zhang ◽  
Shuo Li ◽  
Ning Jiang ◽  
Liming Dou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Ultraviolet Emission ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Black Hole Binaries ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Black Hole Binary

AbstractOptical transient surveys have led to the discovery of dozens of stellar tidal disruption events (TDEs) by massive black hole in the centers of galaxies. Despite extensive searches, X-ray follow-up observations have produced no or only weak X-ray detections in most of them. Here we report the discovery of delayed X-ray brightening around 140 days after the optical outburst in the TDE OGLE16aaa, followed by several flux dips during the decay phase. These properties are unusual for standard TDEs and could be explained by the presence of supermassive black hole binary or patchy obscuration. In either scenario, the X-rays can be produced promptly after the disruption but are blocked in the early phase, possibly by a radiation-dominated ejecta which leads to the bulk of optical and ultraviolet emission. Our findings imply that the reprocessing is important in the TDE early evolution, and X-ray observations are promising in revealing supermassive black hole binaries.

scholarly journals The tidal disruption event AT 2018hyz – I. Double-peaked emission lines and a flat Balmer decrement

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 4119-4133 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Short ◽  
M Nicholl ◽  
A Lawrence ◽  
S Gomez ◽  
I Arcavi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cataclysmic Variables ◽  
Absolute Magnitude ◽  
Emission Lines ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Broad Emission ◽  
Balmer Lines ◽  
High Cadence ◽  
Balmer Decrement

ABSTRACT We present results from spectroscopic observations of AT 2018hyz, a transient discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernova survey at an absolute magnitude of MV ∼ −20.2 mag, in the nucleus of a quiescent galaxy with strong Balmer absorption lines. AT 2018hyz shows a blue spectral continuum and broad emission lines, consistent with previous TDE candidates. High cadence follow-up spectra show broad Balmer lines and He i in early spectra, with He ii making an appearance after ∼70–100 d. The Balmer lines evolve from a smooth broad profile, through a boxy, asymmetric double-peaked phase consistent with accretion disc emission, and back to smooth at late times. The Balmer lines are unlike typical active galactic nucleus in that they show a flat Balmer decrement (Hα/Hβ ∼ 1.5), suggesting the lines are collisionally excited rather than being produced via photoionization. The flat Balmer decrement together with the complex profiles suggests that the emission lines originate in a disc chromosphere, analogous to those seen in cataclysmic variables. The low optical depth of material due to a possible partial disruption may be what allows us to observe these double-peaked, collisionally excited lines. The late appearance of He ii may be due to an expanding photosphere or outflow, or late-time shocks in debris collisions.

scholarly journals Workshop on Stellar Tidal Disruption

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S285) ◽  
pp. 261-268
Author(s):  
Glennys R. Farrar
Keyword(s):  
Accretion Disks ◽  
Main Sequence ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Late Time ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Spectral Signatures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Observational Status

AbstractThe past year has seen major advances in the observational status of Stellar Tidal Disruption, with the discovery of two strong optical candidates in archived SDSS data and the real-time X-ray detection of Swift J1644+57, plus rapid radio and optical follow-up establishing it as a probable Tidal Disruption Flare (TDF) in “blazar mode”. These observations motivated a workshop devoted to discussion of such events and of the theory of their emission and flare rate. Observational contributions included a presentation of Swift J2058+05 (a possible second example of a TDF in blazar mode), reports on the late-time evolution and X-ray variability of the two Swift events, and a proposal that additional candidates may be evidenced by spectral signatures in SDSS. Theory presentations included models of radio emission, theory of light curves and the proposal that GRB101225A may be the Galactic tidal disruption of a neutron star, an interpretation of Swift J1644+57 as due to the disruption of a white dwarf instead of main-sequence star, calculation of the dependence of the TDF rate on the spin of the black hole, and analysis of the SDSS events, fitting their SEDs to profiles of thoretical emission from accretion disks and showing that their luminosity and rate are consistent with the proposal that TDEs can be responsible for UHECR acceleration.

scholarly journals ASASSN-15lh: a TDE about a maximally rotating 109 M⊙ black hole

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (1) ◽  
pp. L13-L18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Mummery ◽  
Steven A Balbus
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Tidal Disruption ◽  
Scaling Relationships ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Infrared Frequencies ◽  
Disruption Event

ABSTRACT We model the light curves of the novel and extremely luminous transient ASASSN-15lh at nine different frequencies, from infrared to ultraviolet photon energies, as an evolving relativistic disc produced in the aftermath of a tidal disruption event (TDE). Good fits to all nine light curves are simultaneously obtained when Macc ≃ 0.07 M⊙ is accreted on to a black hole of mass M ≃ 109 M⊙ and near-maximal rotation a/rg = 0.99. The best-fitting black hole mass is consistent with a number of existing estimates from galactic scaling relationships. If confirmed, our results represent the detection of one of the most massive rapidly spinning black holes to date, and are strong evidence for a TDE origin for ASASSN-15lh. This would be the first TDE to be observed in the disc-dominated state at optical and infrared frequencies.

scholarly journals SuperWASP variable stars: classifying light curves using citizen science

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (1) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311
Author(s):  
Heidi B Thiemann ◽  
Andrew J Norton ◽  
Hugh J Dickinson ◽  
Adam McMaster ◽  
Ulrich C Kolb
Keyword(s):  
Variable Stars ◽  
Eclipsing Binaries ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Resultant Data ◽  
Sky Survey ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Contact Binaries ◽  
Analysis Of Results

ABSTRACT We present the first analysis of results from the SuperWASP variable stars Zooniverse project, which is aiming to classify 1.6 million phase-folded light curves of candidate stellar variables observed by the SuperWASP all sky survey with periods detected in the SuperWASP periodicity catalogue. The resultant data set currently contains >1 million classifications corresponding to >500 000 object–period combinations, provided by citizen–scientist volunteers. Volunteer-classified light curves have ∼89 per cent accuracy for detached and semidetached eclipsing binaries, but only ∼9 per cent accuracy for rotationally modulated variables, based on known objects. We demonstrate that this Zooniverse project will be valuable for both population studies of individual variable types and the identification of stellar variables for follow-up. We present preliminary findings on various unique and extreme variables in this analysis, including long-period contact binaries and binaries near the short-period cut-off, and we identify 301 previously unknown binaries and pulsators. We are now in the process of developing a web portal to enable other researchers to access the outputs of the SuperWASP variable stars project.

scholarly journals A minimal timescale for the continuum in 4U 1608-52 and Aql X-1

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (1) ◽  
pp. L72-L78
Author(s):  
K Mohamed ◽  
E Sonbas ◽  
K S Dhuga ◽  
E Göğüş ◽  
A Tuncer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Neutron Star ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Light Curves ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Strong Positive Correlation ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Binaries ◽  
The Continuum

ABSTRACT Similar to black hole X-ray binary transients, hysteresis-like state transitions are also seen in some neutron-star X-ray binaries. Using a method based on wavelets and light curves constructed from archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer observations, we extract a minimal timescale over the complete range of transitions for 4U 1608-52 during the 2002 and 2007 outbursts and the 1999 and 2000 outbursts for Aql X-1. We present evidence for a strong positive correlation between this minimal timescale and a similar timescale extracted from the corresponding power spectra of these sources.

scholarly journals Normative distribution of posterior circulation tissue time-to-maximum: Effects of anatomic variation, tracer kinetics, and implications for patient selection in posterior circulation ischemic stroke

2021 ◽  
pp. 0271678X2098239
Author(s):  
Adam E Goldman-Yassen ◽  
Matus Straka ◽  
Michael Uhouse ◽  
Seena Dehkharghani
Keyword(s):  
Ischemic Stroke ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Arterial Input Function ◽  
Anatomic Variation ◽  
Input Function ◽  
Posterior Circulation ◽  
Anterior Circulation ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Perfusion Time

The generalization of perfusion-based, anterior circulation large vessel occlusion selection criteria to posterior circulation stroke is not straightforward due to physiologic delay, which we posit produces physiologic prolongation of the posterior circulation perfusion time-to-maximum (Tmax). To assess normative Tmax distributions, patients undergoing CTA/CTP for suspected ischemic stroke between 1/2018-3/2019 were retrospectively identified. Subjects with any cerebrovascular stenoses, or with follow-up MRI or final clinical diagnosis of stroke were excluded. Posterior circulation anatomic variations were identified. CTP were processed in RAPID and segmented in a custom pipeline permitting manually-enforced arterial input function (AIF) and perfusion estimations constrained to pre-specified vascular territories. Seventy-one subjects (mean 64 ± 19 years) met inclusion. Median Tmax was significantly greater in the cerebellar hemispheres (right: 3.0 s, left: 2.9 s) and PCA territories (right: 2.9 s; left: 3.3 s) than in the anterior circulation (right: 2.4 s; left: 2.3 s, p < 0.001). Fetal PCA disposition eliminated ipsilateral PCA Tmax delays (p = 0.012). Median territorial Tmax was significantly lower with basilar versus any anterior circulation AIF for all vascular territories (p < 0.001). Significant baseline delays in posterior circulation Tmax are observed even without steno-occlusive disease and vary with anatomic variation and AIF selection. The potential for overestimation of at-risk volumes in the posterior circulation merits caution in future trials.

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