Lense–Thirring precession after a supermassive black hole disrupts a star

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14310%2F24%3A00139468" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14310/24:00139468 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07433-w" target="_blank" >https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07433-w</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07433-w" target="_blank" >10.1038/s41586-024-07433-w</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Lense–Thirring precession after a supermassive black hole disrupts a star

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

An accretion disk formed around a supermassive black hole after it disrupts a star is expected to be initially misaligned with respect to the equatorial plane of the black hole. This misalignment induces relativistic torques (the Lense–Thirring effect) on the disk, causing the disk to precess at early times, whereas at late times the disk aligns with the black hole and precession terminates1,2. Here we report, using high-cadence X-ray monitoring observations of a tidal disruption event (TDE), the discovery of strong, quasi-periodic X-ray flux and temperature modulations. These X-ray modulations are separated by roughly 15 days and persist for about 130 days during the early phase of the TDE. Lense–Thirring precession of the accretion flow can produce this X-ray variability, but other physical mechanisms, such as the radiation-pressure instability3,4, cannot be ruled out. Assuming typical TDE parameters, that is, a solar-like star with the resulting disk extending at most to the so-called circularization radius, and that the disk precesses as a rigid body, we constrain the disrupting dimensionless spin parameter of the black hole to be 0.05 ≲ ∣a∣ ≲ 0.5.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Lense–Thirring precession after a supermassive black hole disrupts a star

Popis výsledku anglicky

An accretion disk formed around a supermassive black hole after it disrupts a star is expected to be initially misaligned with respect to the equatorial plane of the black hole. This misalignment induces relativistic torques (the Lense–Thirring effect) on the disk, causing the disk to precess at early times, whereas at late times the disk aligns with the black hole and precession terminates1,2. Here we report, using high-cadence X-ray monitoring observations of a tidal disruption event (TDE), the discovery of strong, quasi-periodic X-ray flux and temperature modulations. These X-ray modulations are separated by roughly 15 days and persist for about 130 days during the early phase of the TDE. Lense–Thirring precession of the accretion flow can produce this X-ray variability, but other physical mechanisms, such as the radiation-pressure instability3,4, cannot be ruled out. Assuming typical TDE parameters, that is, a solar-like star with the resulting disk extending at most to the so-called circularization radius, and that the disk precesses as a rigid body, we constrain the disrupting dimensionless spin parameter of the black hole to be 0.05 ≲ ∣a∣ ≲ 0.5.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

10308 - Astronomy (including astrophysics,space science)

Projekt

<a href="/cs/project/GM24-10599M" target="_blank" >GM24-10599M: Hvězdy v galaktických jádrech: vzájemný vztah s masivními černými dírami</a><br>

Návaznosti

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Rok uplatnění

2024

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Nature

ISSN

0028-0836

e-ISSN

1476-4687

Svazek periodika

630

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

8016

Stát vydavatele periodika

DE - Spolková republika Německo

Počet stran výsledku

4

Strana od-do

325-328

Kód UT WoS článku

001262392300025

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-85193777430