A Candidate Relativistic Tidal Disruption Event at 340 Mpc

Jean J. Somalwar; Vikram Ravi; Dillon Z. Dong; Yuyang Chen; Shari Breen; Poonam Chandra; Tracy Clarke; Kishalay De; B. M. Gaensler; Gregg Hallinan; Sibasish Laha; Casey Law; Steven T. Myers; Tyler Parsotan; Wendy Peters; Emil Polisensky

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acbafc

The Astrophysical Journal (Jan 2023)

A Candidate Relativistic Tidal Disruption Event at 340 Mpc

Jean J. Somalwar,
Vikram Ravi,
Dillon Z. Dong,
Yuyang Chen,
Shari Breen,
Poonam Chandra,
Tracy Clarke,
Kishalay De,
B. M. Gaensler,
Gregg Hallinan,
Sibasish Laha,
Casey Law,
Steven T. Myers,
Tyler Parsotan,
Wendy Peters,
Emil Polisensky

Affiliations

Jean J. Somalwar: ORCiD; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, MC 249-17 California Institute of Technology , Pasadena CA 91125, USA
Vikram Ravi: ORCiD; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, MC 249-17 California Institute of Technology , Pasadena CA 91125, USA
Dillon Z. Dong: ORCiD; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, MC 249-17 California Institute of Technology , Pasadena CA 91125, USA
Yuyang Chen: David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto M5S 3H4, Canada
Shari Breen: SKA Observatory , Jodrell Bank, Lower Withington, Macclesfield, SK11 9FT, UK
Poonam Chandra: ORCiD; National Radio Astronomy Observatory , 520 Edgemont Road, Charlottesville VA 22903, USA
Tracy Clarke: ORCiD; Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA
Kishalay De: MIT-Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
B. M. Gaensler: ORCiD; David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto M5S 3H4, Canada; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto , 50 St. George Street, Toronto M5S 3H4, Canada
Gregg Hallinan: ORCiD; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, MC 249-17 California Institute of Technology , Pasadena CA 91125, USA
Sibasish Laha: ORCiD; Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County , 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA; Astrophysics Science Division, N ASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology , NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Casey Law: ORCiD; Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, MC 249-17 California Institute of Technology , Pasadena CA 91125, USA
Steven T. Myers: National Radio Astronomy Observatory , P.O. Box O, Socorro, NM 87801, USA
Tyler Parsotan: ORCiD; Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County , 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA; Astrophysics Science Division, N ASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology , NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
Wendy Peters: ORCiD; Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA
Emil Polisensky: ORCiD; Naval Research Laboratory , 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acbafc
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 945, no. 2
p. 142

Abstract

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We present observations of an extreme radio flare, VT J024345.70-284040.08, hereafter VT J0243, from the nucleus of a galaxy with evidence for historic Seyfert activity at redshift z = 0.074. Between NRAO Very Large Array (VLA) Sky Survey observations in 1993 to VLA Sky Survey observations in 2018, VT J0243 rose from a ∼ GHz radio luminosity of ν L _ν ≲ 10 ^38 erg s ^−1 to ν L _ν ∼ 10 ^40 erg s ^−1 , and still continues to brighten. The radio spectral energy distribution evolution is consistent with a nascent jet that has slowed over ∼3000 days with an average 0.1 <〈 β 〉< 0.6. The jet is energetic (∼10 ^51–52 erg), and had a radius ∼0.7 pc in 2021 December. X-ray observations suggest a persistent or evolving corona, possibly associated with an accretion disk, and IR and optical observations constrain any high-energy counterpart to be sub-Eddington. VT J0243 may be an example of a young, off-axis radio jet from a slowly evolving tidal disruption event. Other more mysterious triggers for the accretion enhancement and jet launching are possible. In either case, VT J0243 is a unique example of a nascent jet, highlighting the unknown connection between supermassive black holes, the properties of their accretion flows, and jet launching.

Published in The Astrophysical Journal

ISSN: 1538-4357 (Online)
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science: Astronomy: Astrophysics
Website: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0004-637X

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