Recurrent X-ray flares of the black hole candidate in the globular cluster RZ 2109 in NGC 4472

Tiengo, A.; Esposito, P.; Toscani, Martina; Lodato, Giuseppe; Sedda, Manuel Arca; Motta, S.; Contato, F.; Marelli, M.; Salvaterra, R.; Luca, A. De

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202142662

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…As for the case of XMMU J122939.7+075333, the amount of mass accreted at every passage is very small, about 5.5 × 10 −10 M . As pointed out by Tiengo et al (2022), with these low values of mass getting accreted per passage, one such event can last for very long times, and XMMU J122939.7+075333 has indeed been active for more than two decades. Finally, although the available observations are sparse and often provide only shallow upper limits, the outbursts of J0054 seem to recur on a timescale of ≈5 months, which is the time interval between the two closest outbursts and cannot be ruled out by non-detections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The TDE hypothesis could also explain the observed long-term X-ray variability. As invoked for XMMU J122939.7+075333 (Tiengo et al 2022), an object sharing many characteristics with J0054 (long-term variability, very soft X-ray emission, forbidden lines in the optical counterpart), a star on a highly eccentric orbit would be stripped of its material at every pericentre passage, thus producing recurrent flares.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A soft and transient ultraluminous X-ray source with six-hour modulation in the NGC 300 galaxy

Sacchi,

Esposito,

de Martino

et al. 2024

A&A

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We investigate the nature of CXOU\,J005440.5-374320 ( a peculiar bright ($ and soft X-ray transient in the spiral galaxy NGC\,300 with a six-hour periodic flux modulation that was detected in a 2014 observation. Subsequent observations with and as well as a large observational campaign of NGC\,300 and its sources performed with the Swift Neil Gehrels Observatory showed that this source exhibits recurrent flaring activity: four other outbursts were detected across sim 8 years of monitoring. Using data from the archive and from the and catalogues, we determined that the source is likely associated with a bright blue optical/ultraviolet counterpart. This prompted us to perform follow-up observations with the Southern African Large Telescope in December 2019. With the multi-wavelength information at hand, we discuss several possibilities for the nature of Although none is able to account for the full range of the observed peculiar features, we found that the two most promising scenarios are a stellar-mass compact object in a binary system with a Wolf--Rayet star companion, or the recurrent tidal stripping of a stellar object trapped in a system with an intermediate-mass (sim 1000\,M$_ black hole.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A soft and transient ultraluminous X-ray source with six-hour modulation in the NGC 300 galaxy

Sacchi,

Esposito,

de Martino

et al. 2024

A&A

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“…They were first discovered in the nucleus of GSN 069 (Miniutti et al 2019), and since then there have been five more confirmed QPE hosts (Giustini et al 2020;Arcodia et al 2021Arcodia et al , 2024 and two candidates (Chakraborty et al 2021;Quintin et al 2023). Related properties, including recurring large X-ray outbursts and supersoft thermal spectra, have also been observed from a handful of other supermassive black holes (SMBHs; Terashima et al 2012;Tiengo et al 2022;Evans et al 2023;Guolo et al 2024).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing EMRI Models for Quasi-periodic Eruptions with 3.5 yr of Monitoring eRO-QPE1

Chakraborty,

Arcodia,

Kara

et al. 2024

ApJ

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Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are luminous X-ray outbursts recurring on hour timescales, observed from the nuclei of a growing handful of nearby low-mass galaxies. Their physical origin is still debated, and usually modeled as (a) accretion disk instabilities or (b) interaction of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) with a lower mass companion in an extreme mass-ratio inspiral (EMRI). EMRI models can be tested with several predictions related to the short- and long-term behavior of QPEs. In this study, we report on the ongoing 3.5 yr NICER and XMM-Newton monitoring campaign of eRO-QPE1, which is known to exhibit erratic QPEs that have been challenging for the simplest EMRI models to explain. We report (1) complex, non-monotonic evolution in the long-term trends of QPE energy output and inferred emitting area; (2) the disappearance of the QPEs (within NICER detectability) in 2023 October, and then the reappearance by 2024 January at a luminosity of ∼100× fainter (and temperature of ∼3× cooler) than the initial discovery; (3) radio non-detections with MeerKAT and Very Large Array observations partly contemporaneous with our NICER campaign (though not during outbursts); and (4) the presence of a possible ∼6 day modulation of the QPE timing residuals, which aligns with the expected nodal precession timescale of the underlying accretion disk. Our results tentatively support EMRI–disk collision models powering the QPEs, and we demonstrate that the timing modulation of QPEs may be used to jointly constrain the SMBH spin and disk density profile.

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Repeating tidal disruptions in GSN 069: Long-term evolution and constraints on quasi-periodic eruptions’ models

Miniutti¹,

Giustini²,

Arcodia³

et al. 2023

A&A

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Context. GSN 069 is the first galactic nucleus where quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) have been identified in December 2018. These are high-amplitude, soft X-ray bursts recurring every ∼ 9 hr, lasting ∼ 1 hr, and during which the X-ray count rate increases by up to two orders of magnitude with respect to an otherwise stable quiescent level. The X-ray spectral properties and the long-term evolution of GSN 069 in the first few years since its first X-ray detection in 2010 are consistent with a long-lived tidal disruption event (TDE). Aims. We aim to derive the properties of QPEs and of the long-term X-ray evolution in GSN 069 over the past 12 yr. Methods. We analyse timing and spectral X-ray data from 11 XMM-Newton, one Chandra, and 34 Swift observations of GSN 069 on timescales ranging from minutes to years. Results. QPEs in GSN 069 are a transient phenomenon with a lifetime of 1.05 yr. The QPE intensity and recurrence time oscillate and allow for alternating strong-weak QPEs and long-short recurrence times to be defined. In observations with QPEs, the quiescent level exhibits a quasi-periodic oscillation with a period equal to the average separation between consecutive QPEs. The QPE spectral evolution is consistent with thermal emission from a very compact region that heats up quickly and subsequently cools down via X-ray emission while expanding by a factor of ∼ 3 in radius. The long-term evolution of the quiescent level is characterised by two repeating TDEs ∼ 9 yr apart. We detect a precursor X-ray flare prior to the second TDE that may be associated with the circularisation phase during disc formation. A similar precursor flare is tentatively detected just before the first TDE. Conclusions. We provide a comprehensive summary of observational results that can be used to inform further theoretical and numerical studies on the origin of QPEs in GSN 069 and we discuss our results in terms of currently proposed QPE models. Future X-ray observations of GSN 069 promise that the QPE origin and the relation between QPEs and repeating TDEs in this galactic nucleus will be constrained, with consequences for the other sources where QPEs have been identified.

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Recurrent X-ray flares of the black hole candidate in the globular cluster RZ 2109 in NGC 4472

Cited by 6 publications

References 64 publications

A soft and transient ultraluminous X-ray source with six-hour modulation in the NGC 300 galaxy

A soft and transient ultraluminous X-ray source with six-hour modulation in the NGC 300 galaxy

Testing EMRI Models for Quasi-periodic Eruptions with 3.5 yr of Monitoring eRO-QPE1

Repeating tidal disruptions in GSN 069: Long-term evolution and constraints on quasi-periodic eruptions’ models

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