PS1-10jh CONTINUES TO FOLLOW THE FALLBACK ACCRETION RATE OF A TIDALLY DISRUPTED STAR

被引:41
作者
Gezari, S. [1 ]
Chornock, R. [2 ]
Lawrence, A. [3 ]
Rest, A. [4 ]
Jones, D. O. [5 ]
Berger, E. [6 ]
Challis, P. M. [6 ]
Narayan, G. [7 ]
机构
[1] Univ Maryland, Dept Astron, College Pk, MD 20742 USA
[2] Ohio Univ, Inst Astrophys, Dept Phys & Astron, Clippinger Lab 251B, Athens, OH 45701 USA
[3] Univ Edinburgh Scottish Univ Phys Alliance, Inst Astron, Royal Observ, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, Midlothian, Scotland
[4] Space Telescope Sci Inst, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
[5] Johns Hopkins Univ, Dept Phys & Astron, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
[6] Harvard Smithsonian Ctr Astrophys, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
[7] Natl Opt Astron Observ, Tucson, AZ 85719 USA
基金
美国国家科学基金会;
关键词
accretion; accretion disks; black hole physics; galaxies: nuclei; ultraviolet: general; SUPERMASSIVE BLACK-HOLE; MAIN-SEQUENCE STAR; DISK ACCRETION; EVENTS; GALAXIES; FLARES; BRIGHT; GALEX;
D O I
10.1088/2041-8205/815/1/L5
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
We present late-time observations of the tidal disruption event candidate PS1-10jh. UV and optical imaging with Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 localize the transient to be coincident with the host galaxy nucleus to an accuracy of 0.023 arcsec, corresponding to 66 pc. The UV flux in the F225W filter, measured 3.35 rest-frame years after the peak of the nuclear flare, is consistent with a decline that continues to follow a t(-5/3) power-law with no spectral evolution. Late epochs of optical spectroscopy obtained with MMT similar to 2 and 4 years after the peak, enable a clean subtraction of the host galaxy from the early spectra, revealing broad helium emission lines on top of a hot continuum, and placing stringent upper limits on the presence of hydrogen line emission. We do not measure Balmer Hd absorption in the host galaxy that is strong enough to be indicative of a rare, post-starburst "E + A" galaxy as reported by Arcavi et al. The light curve of PS1-10jh over a baseline of 3.5 years is best modeled by fallback accretion of a tidally disrupted star. Its strong broad helium emission relative to hydrogen (He II lambda 4686/H alpha > 5) could be indicative of either the hydrogen-poor chemical composition of the disrupted star, or certain conditions in the tidal debris of a solar-composition star in the presence of an optically thick, extended reprocessing envelope.
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