The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl
The unluckiest star orbits a supermassive black hole elliptically. Every time it reaches the pericenter, it shallowly enters the tidal radius and gets partially tidally disrupted, producing a series of flares. Confirmation of a repeated partial tidal disruption event (pTDE) requires not only evidenc...
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2024-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad638e |
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| author | Zheyu Lin Ning Jiang Tinggui Wang Xu Kong Dongyue Li Han He Yibo Wang Jiazheng Zhu Wentao Li Ji-an Jiang Avinash Singh Rishabh Singh Teja D. K. Sahu Chichuan Jin Keiichi Maeda Shifeng Huang |
| author_facet | Zheyu Lin Ning Jiang Tinggui Wang Xu Kong Dongyue Li Han He Yibo Wang Jiazheng Zhu Wentao Li Ji-an Jiang Avinash Singh Rishabh Singh Teja D. K. Sahu Chichuan Jin Keiichi Maeda Shifeng Huang |
| author_sort | Zheyu Lin |
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| description | The unluckiest star orbits a supermassive black hole elliptically. Every time it reaches the pericenter, it shallowly enters the tidal radius and gets partially tidally disrupted, producing a series of flares. Confirmation of a repeated partial tidal disruption event (pTDE) requires not only evidence to rule out other types of transients but also proof that only one star is involved, as TDEs from multiple stars can also produce similar flares. In this Letter, we report the discovery of a repeated pTDE, AT 2022dbl. In a quiescent galaxy at z = 0.0284, two separate optical/UV flares have been observed in 2022 and 2024 with no bright X-ray, radio, or mid-infrared counterparts. Compared to the first flare, the second flare has a similar blackbody temperature of ∼26,000 K, slightly lower peak luminosity, and slower rise and fall phases. Compared to the Zwicky Transient Facility TDEs, their blackbody parameters and light-curve shapes are all similar. The spectra taken during the second flare show a steeper continuum than the late-time spectra of the previous flare, consistent with a newly risen flare. More importantly, the possibility of two independent TDEs can be largely ruled out because the optical spectra taken around the peak of the two flares exhibit highly similar broad Balmer, N iii, and possible He ii emission lines, especially the extreme ∼4100 Å emission lines. This represents the first robust spectroscopic evidence for a repeated pTDE, which can soon be verified by observing the third flare, given its short orbital period. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-097b39f88a544f0cb33f8debbe4e8c0a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-097b39f88a544f0cb33f8debbe4e8c0a2024-11-11T09:10:04ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052024-01-019711L2610.3847/2041-8213/ad638eThe Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dblZheyu Lin0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-1625Ning Jiang1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7152-3621Tinggui Wang2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1517-6792Xu Kong3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7660-2273Dongyue Li4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4562-7179Han He5https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7292-8392Yibo Wang6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4225-5442Jiazheng Zhu7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3824-9496Wentao Li8https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2521-033XJi-an Jiang9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9092-0593Avinash Singh10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2091-622XRishabh Singh Teja11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0525-0872D. K. Sahu12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6688-0800Chichuan Jin13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2006-1615Keiichi Maeda14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2611-7269Shifeng Huang15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7689-6382Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China; Institute of Deep Space Sciences , Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China; Institute of Deep Space Sciences , Deep Space Exploration Laboratory, Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaNational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University , Wuhan 430072, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanHiroshima Astrophysical Science Center, Hiroshima University , Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, JapanIndian Institute of Astrophysics , II Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru-560034, Karnataka, India; Pondicherry University , R.V. Nagar, Kalapet, Pondicherry-605014, UT of Puducherry, IndiaIndian Institute of Astrophysics , II Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru-560034, Karnataka, IndiaNational Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Astronomy, Kyoto University , Kitashirakawa-Oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, JapanDepartment of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of China ; linzheyu@mail.ustc.edu.cn, jnac@ustc.edu.cn, twang@ustc.edu.cn, xkong@ustc.edu.cn; School of Astronomy and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei 230026, People's Republic of ChinaThe unluckiest star orbits a supermassive black hole elliptically. Every time it reaches the pericenter, it shallowly enters the tidal radius and gets partially tidally disrupted, producing a series of flares. Confirmation of a repeated partial tidal disruption event (pTDE) requires not only evidence to rule out other types of transients but also proof that only one star is involved, as TDEs from multiple stars can also produce similar flares. In this Letter, we report the discovery of a repeated pTDE, AT 2022dbl. In a quiescent galaxy at z = 0.0284, two separate optical/UV flares have been observed in 2022 and 2024 with no bright X-ray, radio, or mid-infrared counterparts. Compared to the first flare, the second flare has a similar blackbody temperature of ∼26,000 K, slightly lower peak luminosity, and slower rise and fall phases. Compared to the Zwicky Transient Facility TDEs, their blackbody parameters and light-curve shapes are all similar. The spectra taken during the second flare show a steeper continuum than the late-time spectra of the previous flare, consistent with a newly risen flare. More importantly, the possibility of two independent TDEs can be largely ruled out because the optical spectra taken around the peak of the two flares exhibit highly similar broad Balmer, N iii, and possible He ii emission lines, especially the extreme ∼4100 Å emission lines. This represents the first robust spectroscopic evidence for a repeated pTDE, which can soon be verified by observing the third flare, given its short orbital period.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad638eBlack holesTidal disruptionSupermassive black holesTime domain astronomy |
| spellingShingle | Zheyu Lin Ning Jiang Tinggui Wang Xu Kong Dongyue Li Han He Yibo Wang Jiazheng Zhu Wentao Li Ji-an Jiang Avinash Singh Rishabh Singh Teja D. K. Sahu Chichuan Jin Keiichi Maeda Shifeng Huang The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl The Astrophysical Journal Letters Black holes Tidal disruption Supermassive black holes Time domain astronomy |
| title | The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl |
| title_full | The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl |
| title_fullStr | The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl |
| title_short | The Unluckiest Star: A Spectroscopically Confirmed Repeated Partial Tidal Disruption Event AT 2022dbl |
| title_sort | unluckiest star a spectroscopically confirmed repeated partial tidal disruption event at 2022dbl |
| topic | Black holes Tidal disruption Supermassive black holes Time domain astronomy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad638e |
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