122 research outputs found
The Broad Absorption Line Tidal Disruption Event iPTF15af: Optical and Ultraviolet Evolution
We present multi-wavelength observations of the tidal disruption event (TDE)
iPTF15af, discovered by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF)
survey at redshift . The optical and ultraviolet (UV) light curves
of the transient show a slow decay over five months, in agreement with previous
optically discovered TDEs. It also has a comparable black-body peak luminosity
of erg/s. The inferred temperature
from the optical and UV data shows a value of (35) K. The
transient is not detected in X-rays up to erg/s within
the first five months after discovery. The optical spectra exhibit two distinct
broad emission lines in the He II region, and at later times also H
emission. Additionally, emission from [N III] and [O III] is detected, likely
produced by the Bowen fluorescence effect. UV spectra reveal broad emission and
absorption lines associated with high-ionization states of N V, C IV, Si IV,
and possibly P V. These features, analogous to those of broad absorption line
quasars (BAL QSOs), require an absorber with column densities cm. This optically thick gas would also explain the
non-detection in soft X-rays. The profile of the absorption lines with the
highest column density material at the largest velocity is opposite that of BAL
QSOs. We suggest that radiation pressure generated by the TDE flare at early
times could have provided the initial acceleration mechanism for this gas.
Spectral UV line monitoring of future TDEs could test this proposal.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, published in Ap
A NICER Discovery of a Low-Frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillation in the Soft-Intermediate State of MAXI J1535-571
We present the discovery of a low-frequency Hz quasi-periodic
oscillation (QPO) feature in observations of the black hole X-ray binary MAXI
J1535-571 in its soft-intermediate state, obtained in September-October 2017 by
the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER). The feature is
relatively broad (compared to other low-frequency QPOs; quality factor
) and weak (1.9% rms in 3-10 keV), and is accompanied by a weak
harmonic and low-amplitude broadband noise. These characteristics identify it
as a weak Type A/B QPO, similar to ones previously identified in the
soft-intermediate state of the transient black hole X-ray binary XTE J1550-564.
The lag-energy spectrum of the QPO shows increasing soft lags towards lower
energies, approaching 50 ms at 1 keV (with respect to a 3-10 keV continuum).
This large phase shift has similar amplitude but opposite sign to that seen in
Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer data for a Type B QPO from the transient black hole
X-ray binary GX 339-4. Previous phase-resolved spectroscopy analysis of the
Type B QPO in GX 339-4 pointed towards a precessing jet-like corona
illuminating the accretion disk as the origin of the QPO signal. We suggest
that this QPO in MAXI J1535-571 may have the same origin, with the different
lag sign depending on the scale height of the emitting region and the observer
inclination angle.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
NICER monitoring of supersoft X-ray sources
We monitored four supersoft sources - two persistent ones, CAL 83 and MR Vel,
and the recent novae YZ Ret (Nova Ret 2020) and V1674 Her (Nova Her 2021) -
with NICER. The two persistent SSS were observed with unvaried X-ray flux level
and spectrum, respectively, 13 and 20 years after the last observations. Short
period modulations of the supersoft X-ray source (SSS) appear where the
spectrum of the luminous central source was fully visibl (in CAL 83 and V1674
Her) and were absent in YZ Ret and MR Vel, in which the flux originated in
photoionized or shocked plasma, while the white dwarf (WD) was not observable.
We thus suggest that the pulsations occur on, or very close to, the WD surface.
The pulsations of CAL 83 were almost unvaried after 15 years, including an
irregular drift of the 67 s period by 2.1 s. Simulations, including
previous XMM-Newton data, indicate actual variations in period length within
hours, rather than an artifact of the variable amplitude of the pulsations.
Large amplitude pulsations with a period of 501.530.30 s were always
detected in V1674 Her, as long as the SSS was observable. This period seems to
be due to rotation of a highly magnetized WD.We cannot confirm the maximum
effective temperature of (145,000 K) previously inferred for this nova,
and discuss the difficulty in interpreting its spectrum. The WD appears to
present two surface zones, one of which does not emit SSS flux.Comment: in press in the Astrophysical Journa
iPTF16fnl: a faint and fast tidal disruption event in an E+A galaxy
We present ground-based and \textit{Swift} observations of iPTF16fnl, a
likely tidal disruption event (TDE) discovered by the intermediate Palomar
Transient Factory (iPTF) survey at 66.6 Mpc. The lightcurve of the object
peaked at absolute mag. The maximum bolometric luminosity (from
optical and UV) was erg/s, an
order of magnitude fainter than any other optical TDE discovered so far. The
luminosity in the first 60 days is consistent with an exponential decay, with
, where =~57631.0 (MJD) and
days. The X-ray shows a marginal detection at erg/s (\textit{Swift} X-ray Telescope). No radio counterpart was
detected down to 3, providing upper limits for monochromatic radio
luminosity of erg/s and erg/s (VLA, 6.1 and 22 GHz). The blackbody temperature, obtained from
combined \textit{Swift} UV and optical photometry, shows a constant value of
19,000 K. The transient spectrum at peak is characterized by broad He II and
H emission lines, with an FWHM of about 14,000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
respectively. He I lines are also detected at 5875 and 6678.
The spectrum of the host is dominated by strong Balmer absorption lines, which
are consistent with a post-starburst (E+A) galaxy with an age of 650 Myr
and solar metallicity. The characteristics of iPTF16fnl make it an outlier on
both luminosity and decay timescales, as compared to other optically selected
TDEs. The discovery of such a faint optical event suggests a higher rate of
tidal disruptions, as low luminosity events may have gone unnoticed in previous
searches.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Science with a small two-band UV-photometry mission III: Active Galactic Nuclei and nuclear transients
In this review (the third in the series focused on a small two-band
UV-photometry mission), we assess possibilities for a small UV two-band
photometry mission in studying accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs; mass
range -). We focus on the following
observational concepts: (i) dedicated monitoring of selected type-I Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGN) in order to measure the time delay between the far-UV,
the near-UV, and other wavebands (X-ray and optical), (ii) nuclear transients
including (partial) tidal disruption events and repetitive nuclear transients,
and (iii) the study of peculiar sources, such as changing-look AGN, hollows and
gaps in accretion disks, low-luminosity AGN, and candidates for
Intermediate-Mass Black Holes (IMBHs; mass range -)
in galactic nuclei. For tidal disruption events (TDEs), high-cadence UV
monitoring is crucial for distinguishing among different scenarios for the
origin of the UV emission. The small two-band UV space telescope will also
provide the information about the near- and far-UV continuum variability for
rare transients, such as repetitive partial TDEs and jetted TDEs. We also
discuss the possibilities to study and analyze sources with non-standard
accretion flows, such as AGN with gappy disks, low-luminosity active galactic
nuclei with intermittent accretion, and SMBH binaries potentially involving
intermediate-mass black holes.Comment: Submitted to Space Science Review
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