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Observational Progress in Identifying and Characterizing Tidal Disruption Flares

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 June 2017

S. Bradley Cenko
S. Bradley Cenko*
Affiliation:
Astrophysics Science Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Mail Code 661, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
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Abstract

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I present an overview of observational efforts across the electromagnetic spectrum to identify and study tidal disruption flares (TDFs), when a star wanders too close to a super-massive black hole and is torn apart by tidal forces. In particular I will focus on four unexpected surprises that challenge the most basic analytic picture of these events: 1) large inferred radii for the optical/UV-emitting material; 2) the ubiquity of outflows, detected at radio, X-ray, and UV wavelengths, ranging from speeds of 100 km/s to near the speed of light; 3) the peculiar atomic abundances observed in the UV and optical spectra of these objects; and, 4) the preference for these events to occur in post-starburst galaxies.

Keywords

accretionblack hole physics
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 12 , Symposium S324: New Frontiers in Black Hole Astrophysics , September 2016 , pp. 93 - 98
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2017 

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