An international team of astronomers has observed AT 2023clx, the closest tidal disruption event (TDE) to Earth, at multiple wavelengths. The results of an observational campaign published on the preprint server arXiv on January 22 provide important information about the properties of this TDE. A TDE is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when a star passes close to a supermassive black hole and is torn apart by the black hole’s tidal forces. AT 2023clx is located at the center of galaxy NGC 3799, approximately 155.8 million light-years away, making it the closest known optical TDE. Classified as TDE in July 2023. AT 2023 clx is one of the weakest known tidal disturbances. Because AT 2023clx was only recently discovered, little is known about its properties. For this reason, a team of astronomers led by Panos Charalampros from the University of Turku in Finland conducted a comprehensive study of his TDE in optical, near-infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths. To do this, scientists used a variety of space telescopes and ground-based observation facilities, including NASA’s Swift spacecraft and the Northern Optical Telescope (NOT). Observations have shown that the maximum absolute magnitude of AT 2023clx is -18.25. It was in the G band and had a maximum bolometric luminosity of 32.4 trillion erg/s. The mass of a supermassive black hole is estimated to be about 1 million solar masses. According to this study, AT 2023clx peaked at his 10.4 days, making it the fastest growing TDE to date. Astronomers suspect that this rapid growth was caused by the destruction of very low-mass stars (less than 0.1 solar mass), with a collision parameter of about 0.8. Spectroscopy revealed a blue continuum and broad Balmer and helium lines. As often observed with known TDEs, the lines gradually become thinner over time as their brightness decreases. Observations of AT 2023clx also showed a sharp narrow emission peak at a resting wavelength around 6353 Å in the upper blue region of the broad alpha hydrogen profile. In conclusion, the researchers note that 2023clx is the result of the tidal collapse of a low-mass, small-radius star with a low central concentration that is on the verge of complete destruction but is still below a critical value. are doing.

source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.11773