A candidate relativistic tidal disruption event at 340 Mpc

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2207.02873.pdf (1019.92 KB)

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https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.02873

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https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2207.02873
 http://hdl.handle.net/11603/26294

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UMBC Center for Space Sciences and Technology (CSST) / Center for Research and Exploration in Space Sciences & Technology II (CRSST II)
UMBC Faculty Collection

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https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2714-0487
 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4299-2517

Date

2022-07-06

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journal articles
preprints
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law.
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Abstract

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 VLA Sky Survey observations in 1993 to VLA Sky Survey observations in 2018, VT J0243 rose from a ∼GHz radio luminosity of νLν . 1038 erg s−1 to νLν∼1040 erg s−1 , and still continues to brighten. The radio spectral energy distribution (SED) evolution is consistent with a nascent jet that has slowed over ∼3000 days with an average 0.1 < hβi < 0.6. The jet is energetic (∼1051−52 erg), and had a radius ∼0.7 pc in Dec. 2021. 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.