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| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Preprint |
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2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.00904 |
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| author | Chang, Yi-Chi Soria, Roberto Kong, Albert K. H. Graham, Alister W. Grishin, Kirill A. Chilingarian, Igor V. |
| author_facet | Chang, Yi-Chi Soria, Roberto Kong, Albert K. H. Graham, Alister W. Grishin, Kirill A. Chilingarian, Igor V. |
| contents | We report on the intriguing properties of a variable X-ray source projected at the outskirts of the elliptical galaxy NGC 6099 ($d \approx 139$ Mpc). If truly located near NGC 6099, this is a hyperluminous X-ray source that reached an X-ray luminosity $L_{X} \approx $ a few times $10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 2012 February (XMM-Newton data), about 50 to 100 times brighter than in 2009 May (Chandra) and 2023 August (XMM-Newton). The X-ray spectrum was soft at all three epochs, with a thermal component at $kT \approx 0.2$ keV and a power-law photon index $>3$. Such properties make it a strong candidate for an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). We also discovered a point-like, blue optical counterpart ($m_{g,{Vega}}\approx24.7$~mag, $M_{g,{Vega}}\approx-11.2$~mag), from images taken by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and later confirmed with Hubble Space Telescope observations. The optical continuum can be modeled as stellar emission from a compact star cluster or an X-ray-irradiated accretion disk, consistent with the IMBH scenario. We discuss alternative explanations for the nature of this system. A possible scenario is tidal stripping of an orbiting star, with repeated X-ray outbursts every few years. An alternative possibility is that the thermal X-ray emission seen in 2009 was from shocked gas in the self-intersecting tidal stream during the rising phase of a tidal disruption event, while the 2012 and 2023 emissions were from the fully-formed accretion disk. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_00904 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Multi-wavelength study of a hyperluminous X-ray source near NGC 6099: a strong IMBH candidate Chang, Yi-Chi Soria, Roberto Kong, Albert K. H. Graham, Alister W. Grishin, Kirill A. Chilingarian, Igor V. High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena We report on the intriguing properties of a variable X-ray source projected at the outskirts of the elliptical galaxy NGC 6099 ($d \approx 139$ Mpc). If truly located near NGC 6099, this is a hyperluminous X-ray source that reached an X-ray luminosity $L_{X} \approx $ a few times $10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in 2012 February (XMM-Newton data), about 50 to 100 times brighter than in 2009 May (Chandra) and 2023 August (XMM-Newton). The X-ray spectrum was soft at all three epochs, with a thermal component at $kT \approx 0.2$ keV and a power-law photon index $>3$. Such properties make it a strong candidate for an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). We also discovered a point-like, blue optical counterpart ($m_{g,{Vega}}\approx24.7$~mag, $M_{g,{Vega}}\approx-11.2$~mag), from images taken by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, and later confirmed with Hubble Space Telescope observations. The optical continuum can be modeled as stellar emission from a compact star cluster or an X-ray-irradiated accretion disk, consistent with the IMBH scenario. We discuss alternative explanations for the nature of this system. A possible scenario is tidal stripping of an orbiting star, with repeated X-ray outbursts every few years. An alternative possibility is that the thermal X-ray emission seen in 2009 was from shocked gas in the self-intersecting tidal stream during the rising phase of a tidal disruption event, while the 2012 and 2023 emissions were from the fully-formed accretion disk. |
| title | Multi-wavelength study of a hyperluminous X-ray source near NGC 6099: a strong IMBH candidate |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.00904 |