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Main Authors: Zhu, Jiazheng, Jiang, Ning, Wang, Yibo, Wang, Tinggui, Sun, Luming, Zhong, Shiyan, Yao, Yuhan, Chornock, Ryan, Dai, Lixin, Lyu, Jianwei, Shu, Xinwen, Fremling, Christoffer, Hammerstein, Erica, Huang, Shifeng, Li, Wenkai, You, Bei
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.22211
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author Zhu, Jiazheng
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Yibo
Wang, Tinggui
Sun, Luming
Zhong, Shiyan
Yao, Yuhan
Chornock, Ryan
Dai, Lixin
Lyu, Jianwei
Shu, Xinwen
Fremling, Christoffer
Hammerstein, Erica
Huang, Shifeng
Li, Wenkai
You, Bei
author_facet Zhu, Jiazheng
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Yibo
Wang, Tinggui
Sun, Luming
Zhong, Shiyan
Yao, Yuhan
Chornock, Ryan
Dai, Lixin
Lyu, Jianwei
Shu, Xinwen
Fremling, Christoffer
Hammerstein, Erica
Huang, Shifeng
Li, Wenkai
You, Bei
contents X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are rare and enigmatic phenomena that increasingly show a connection to tidal disruption events (TDEs). However, the recently discovered QPEs in ZTF19acnskyy ("Ansky") appear to be linked to an active galactic nucleus (AGN) rather than a TDE, as their slow decay and AGN-like variability differ markedly from that of typical TDEs. This finding may imply broader formation channels for QPEs. To further investigate Ansky's nature, we obtained a timely ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, which reveals a featureless, TDE-like spectrum devoid of broad optical or UV emission lines. Additionally, the steep UV continuum, fitted by a power law with an index of -2.6, aligns more closely with TDEs than with AGNs. Compared to other featureless TDEs, Ansky exhibits a significantly lower blackbody luminosity (10^43 erg s^-1) and much longer rise and decay timescales, suggesting a distinct TDE subclass. An offset TDE involving an intermediate-mass black hole is unlikely, given its position consistent with the galactic center with a 3 sigma upper limit of 54 pc. Instead, we propose that Ansky may result from the tidal disruption of a post-main-sequence star by a typical supermassive black hole. Our findings strengthen the growing evidence for TDE-QPE associations, although other formation channels for QPEs remain plausible and await future observational efforts.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Ultraviolet Spectral Evidence for Ansky as a Slowly Evolving Featureless Tidal Disruption Event with Quasiperiodic Eruptions
Zhu, Jiazheng
Jiang, Ning
Wang, Yibo
Wang, Tinggui
Sun, Luming
Zhong, Shiyan
Yao, Yuhan
Chornock, Ryan
Dai, Lixin
Lyu, Jianwei
Shu, Xinwen
Fremling, Christoffer
Hammerstein, Erica
Huang, Shifeng
Li, Wenkai
You, Bei
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
X-ray quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are rare and enigmatic phenomena that increasingly show a connection to tidal disruption events (TDEs). However, the recently discovered QPEs in ZTF19acnskyy ("Ansky") appear to be linked to an active galactic nucleus (AGN) rather than a TDE, as their slow decay and AGN-like variability differ markedly from that of typical TDEs. This finding may imply broader formation channels for QPEs. To further investigate Ansky's nature, we obtained a timely ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, which reveals a featureless, TDE-like spectrum devoid of broad optical or UV emission lines. Additionally, the steep UV continuum, fitted by a power law with an index of -2.6, aligns more closely with TDEs than with AGNs. Compared to other featureless TDEs, Ansky exhibits a significantly lower blackbody luminosity (10^43 erg s^-1) and much longer rise and decay timescales, suggesting a distinct TDE subclass. An offset TDE involving an intermediate-mass black hole is unlikely, given its position consistent with the galactic center with a 3 sigma upper limit of 54 pc. Instead, we propose that Ansky may result from the tidal disruption of a post-main-sequence star by a typical supermassive black hole. Our findings strengthen the growing evidence for TDE-QPE associations, although other formation channels for QPEs remain plausible and await future observational efforts.
title Ultraviolet Spectral Evidence for Ansky as a Slowly Evolving Featureless Tidal Disruption Event with Quasiperiodic Eruptions
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.22211