Thermal Electrons in the Radio Afterglow of Relativistic Tidal Disruption Event ZTF22aaajecp/AT 2022cmc
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when a star travels too close to a supermassive black hole. In some cases, accretion of the disrupted material onto the black hole launches a relativistic jet. In this paper, we present a long-term observing campaign to study the radio and submillimeter emission associated with the fifth jetted/relativistic TDE: AT 2022cmc. Our campaign reveals a long-lived counterpart. We fit three different models to our data: a nonthermal jet, a spherical outflow consisting of both thermal and nonthermal electrons, and a jet with thermal and nonthermal electrons. We find that the data are best described by a relativistic spherical outflow propagating into an environment with a density profile following R −1.8. Comparison of AT 2022cmc to other TDEs finds agreement in the density profile of the environment but also that AT 2022cmc is twice as energetic as the other well-studied relativistic TDE, Swift J1644. Our observations of AT 2022cmc allow a thermal electron population to be inferred for the first time in a jetted transient, providing new insights into the microphysics of relativistic transients jets.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Institutions: Trottier Space Institute at McGill, McGill University, University of Minnesota, University of Oxford, University of Cape Town, University of Cambridge, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, George Washington University, California Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, University of California, Berkeley, University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, UK Research and Innovation, European Commission, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, Canada Research Chairs, Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada, Israel Science Foundation, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
OpenAlex ID: W4415022012