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The birth of a relativistic jet following the disruption of a star by a cosmological black hole
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(2023) The birth of a relativistic jet following the disruption of a star by a cosmological black hole. Nature Astronomy, 7 . pp. 88-104. doi:10.1038/s41550-022-01820-x ISSN 2397-3366.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01820-x
Abstract
A black hole can launch a powerful relativistic jet after it tidally disrupts a star. If this jet fortuitously aligns with our line of sight, the overall brightness is Doppler boosted by several orders of magnitude. Consequently, such on-axis relativistic tidal disruption events have the potential to unveil cosmological (redshift z > 1) quiescent black holes and are ideal test beds for understanding the radiative mechanisms operating in super-Eddington jets. Here we present multiwavelength (X-ray, UV, optical and radio) observations of the optically discovered transient AT 2022cmc at z = 1.193. Its unusual X-ray properties, including a peak observed luminosity of ≳1048 erg s−1, systematic variability on timescales as short as 1,000 s and overall duration lasting more than 30 days in the rest frame, are traits associated with relativistic tidal disruption events. The X-ray to radio spectral energy distributions spanning 5–50 days after discovery can be explained as synchrotron emission from a relativistic jet (radio), synchrotron self-Compton (X-rays) and thermal emission similar to that seen in low-redshift tidal disruption events (UV/optical). Our modelling implies a beamed, highly relativistic jet akin to blazars but requires extreme matter domination (that is, a high ratio of electron-to-magnetic-field energy densities in the jet) and challenges our theoretical understanding of jets.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QB Astronomy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Physics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Astrophysical jets, Relativistic astrophysics, Cosmology, Black holes (Astronomy) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Nature Astronomy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ISSN: | 2397-3366 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Official Date: | January 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Volume: | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 88-104 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1038/s41550-022-01820-x | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 2 February 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 30 May 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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