Tidal Disruption Events from Archival X-ray Observations of Dwarf Galaxies
Abstract
Intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) have proven notably difficult to identify unambiguously. The luminous flare resulting from an IMBH's disruption of a passing star is one particularly promising method of identifying IMBHs. We present recent results on tidal disruption candidates in dwarf galaxies, which we have identified in archival X-ray data. In particular, we discuss deep Gemini spectroscopy of the tidal disruption host galaxy WINGS J134849.88+263557.5, which we had previously identified in Abell 1795 via an archival survey of Galaxy clusters using Chandra and XMM-Newton. We eliminate the interpretation of this object as a background galaxy or flaring AGN with weak emission lines, and now confirm that this galaxy is a passive dwarf galaxy in Abell 1795 and one of the smallest galaxies confirmed to host a massive black hole. We also discuss another possible tidal disruption identified via comparison of archival ROSAT and XMM-Newton data, which shows a luminous, supersoft, and highly variable X-ray source in an otherwise inactive dwarf galaxy.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #223
- Pub Date:
- January 2014
- Bibcode:
- 2014AAS...22340602M