Swift J1644+57

Last updated
GRB 110328A
GRB 110328A (captured by the Hubble Space Telescope).jpg
Swift J1644+57 imaged by Hubble Space Telescope.
Event type Gamma-ray burst   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Durationyears
Constellation Draco   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Right ascension 16h 44m 49.97s
Declination +57° 34′ 59.7″ [1]
Distance3,800,000,000 ly (1.2×109 pc)
Total energy output5×1048 ergs (assuming beamed emission)
Other designationsGRB 110328A, Swift J164449.3+573451, 2MAXI J1645+576
  Commons-logo.svg Related media on Commons
[ edit on Wikidata]

Swift J164449.3+573451, initially referred to as GRB 110328A, and sometimes abbreviated to Sw J1644+57, was a tidal disruption event (TDE), the destruction of a star by a supermassive black hole. It was first detected by the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission on March 28, 2011. [2] The event occurred in the center of a small galaxy in the Draco constellation, about 3.8 billion light-years away. It was the first confirmed jetted tidal disruption event and is the most luminous and energetic TDE recorded. [3]

Contents

Relativistic Jet

Swift J1644+57 occurred when a star wandered too close to the central supermassive black hole in the galaxy, and was gravitationally torn apart, forming an accretion disk from stellar material. [2] [4] [5] [6] When this occurred, an astrophysical jet was launched with material traveling at relativistic speeds, near the speed of light. The beam of radiation from one of these jets pointed directly toward Earth, enhancing the apparent brightness.

Swift J1644+57 was observed by many telescopes across the electromagnetic spectrum. γ- and X-rays were detected due to jet plasma physics from the relativistic jet, with repetitive dimming and softening of the X-rays due to precession within the warped disk. [7] The jets drive shocks into the surrounding interstellar medium, resulting in a radio to infrared afterglow. Observed linear polarization of the infrared radiation was consistent with synchrotron emission from the afterglow shock. [8]

Continuous monitoring at radio and X-ray wavelengths indicated that after roughly 600 days (1.5 years), the relativistic jet shut off. [9] This time likely corresponds with when the mass accretion from the stellar debris passed under the Eddington rate, at which point the jet was no longer fueled. [10]

Since then, the outflow has become non-relativistic in speed, [11] and emission is consistent with that of a shock wave that continues to expand into the surrounding material. As of 2021, the event is no longer detectable in X-rays but is still radio bright, and it is anticipated radio emission from Swift J1644+57 will be observable for several decades as emission continues to slowly fade. [12]

Host Galaxy and Progenitor

Detection of the relativistically expanding afterglow confirmed the identity of the host galaxy. [13] Optical emission lines imply that the host is not an active galactic nucleus (AGN), but a starburst galaxy of HII galaxy classification. [14] The supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy is estimated to be > 7 × 106 Msun. [15]

Timing considerations suggest that the tidally disrupted star was possibly a white dwarf and not a regular main sequence star. [16] When the relativistic jet turned off, given the mass of astronomers calculated the amount of mass needed to fuel the jet for the Swift J1644+57 black hole as ~0.15 Msun, which is consistent with a solar mass star. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamma-ray burst</span> Flashes of gamma rays from distant galaxies

In gamma-ray astronomy, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies, described by NASA as "the most powerful class of explosions in the universe". They are the most energetic and luminous electromagnetic events since the Big Bang. Bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several hours. After an initial flash of gamma rays, a longer-lived "afterglow" is usually emitted at longer wavelengths.

An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such excess, non-stellar emissions have been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an active galaxy. The non-stellar radiation from an AGN is theorized to result from the accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superluminous supernova</span> Supernova at least ten times more luminous than a standard supernova

A super-luminous supernova is a type of stellar explosion with a luminosity 10 or more times higher than that of standard supernovae. Like supernovae, SLSNe seem to be produced by several mechanisms, which is readily revealed by their light-curves and spectra. There are multiple models for what conditions may produce an SLSN, including core collapse in particularly massive stars, millisecond magnetars, interaction with circumstellar material, or pair-instability supernovae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 87</span> Elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Galaxy Cluster

Messier 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars. One of the largest and most massive galaxies in the local universe, it has a large population of globular clusters—about 15,000 compared with the 150–200 orbiting the Milky Way—and a jet of energetic plasma that originates at the core and extends at least 1,500 parsecs, traveling at a relativistic speed. It is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky and a popular target for both amateur and professional astronomers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centaurus A</span> Radio galaxy in the constellation Centaurus

Centaurus A is a galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop from his home in Parramatta, in New South Wales, Australia. There is considerable debate in the literature regarding the galaxy's fundamental properties such as its Hubble type and distance. NGC 5128 is one of the closest radio galaxies to Earth, so its active galactic nucleus has been extensively studied by professional astronomers. The galaxy is also the fifth-brightest in the sky, making it an ideal amateur astronomy target. It is only visible from the southern hemisphere and low northern latitudes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sagittarius A*</span> Supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way

Sagittarius A*, abbreviated Sgr A*, is the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center of the Milky Way. Viewed from Earth, it is located near the border of the constellations Sagittarius and Scorpius, about 5.6° south of the ecliptic, visually close to the Butterfly Cluster (M6) and Lambda Scorpii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astrophysical jet</span> Beam of ionized matter flowing along the axis of a rotating astronomical object

An astrophysical jet is an astronomical phenomenon where outflows of ionised matter are emitted as extended beams along the axis of rotation. When this greatly accelerated matter in the beam approaches the speed of light, astrophysical jets become relativistic jets as they show effects from special relativity.

Cygnus X-3 is a high-mass X-ray binary (HMXB), one of the stronger binary X-ray sources in the sky. It is often considered to be a microquasar, and it is believed to be a compact object in a binary system which is pulling in a stream of gas from an ordinary star companion. It is one of only two known HMXBs containing a Wolf–Rayet star. It is invisible visually, but can be observed at radio, infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray wavelengths.

Gamma-ray burst emission mechanisms are theories that explain how the energy from a gamma-ray burst progenitor is turned into radiation. These mechanisms are a major topic of research as of 2007. Neither the light curves nor the early-time spectra of GRBs show resemblance to the radiation emitted by any familiar physical process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamma-ray burst progenitors</span> Types of celestial objects that can emit gamma-ray bursts

Gamma-ray burst progenitors are the types of celestial objects that can emit gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). GRBs show an extraordinary degree of diversity. They can last anywhere from a fraction of a second to many minutes. Bursts could have a single profile or oscillate wildly up and down in intensity, and their spectra are highly variable unlike other objects in space. The near complete lack of observational constraint led to a profusion of theories, including evaporating black holes, magnetic flares on white dwarfs, accretion of matter onto neutron stars, antimatter accretion, supernovae, hypernovae, and rapid extraction of rotational energy from supermassive black holes, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GRB 101225A</span> Gamma-ray burst event of December 25, 2010

GRB 101225A, also known as the "Christmas burst", was a cosmic explosion first detected by NASA's Swift observatory on Christmas Day 2010. The gamma-ray emission lasted at least 28 minutes, which is unusually long. Follow-up observations of the burst's afterglow by the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories were unable to determine the object's distance using spectroscopic methods.

Multi-messenger astronomy is astronomy based on the coordinated observation and interpretation of signals carried by disparate "messengers": electromagnetic radiation, gravitational waves, neutrinos, and cosmic rays. They are created by different astrophysical processes, and thus reveal different information about their sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tidal disruption event</span> Pulling apart of a star by tidal forces when it gets too close to a supermassive black hole

A tidal disruption event (TDE) is a transient astronomical source produced when a star passes so close to a supermassive black hole (SMBH) that it is pulled apart by the black hole's tidal force. The star undergoes spaghettification, producing a tidal stream of material that loops around the black hole. Some portion of the stellar material is captured into orbit, forming an accretion disk around the black hole, which emits electromagnetic radiation. In a small fraction of TDEs, a relativistic jet is also produced. As the material in the disk is gradually consumed by the black hole, the TDE fades over several months or years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypernova</span> Supernova that ejects a large mass at unusually high velocity

A hypernova is a very energetic supernova which is believed to result from an extreme core-collapse scenario. In this case, a massive star collapses to form a rotating black hole emitting twin astrophysical jets and surrounded by an accretion disk. It is a type of stellar explosion that ejects material with an unusually high kinetic energy, an order of magnitude higher than most supernovae, with a luminosity at least 10 times greater. Hypernovae release so much of gamma rays they usually appear similar to a type Ic supernova, but with unusually broad spectral lines indicating an extremely high expansion velocity. Hypernovae are one of the mechanisms for producing long gamma ray bursts (GRBs), which range from 2 seconds to over a minute in duration. They have also been referred to as superluminous supernovae, though that classification also includes other types of extremely luminous stellar explosions that have different origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4993</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Hydra

NGC 4993 is a lenticular galaxy located about 140 million light-years away in the constellation Hydra. It was discovered on 26 March 1789 by William Herschel and is a member of the NGC 4993 Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fast blue optical transient</span> Astronomical observation

In astronomy, a fast blue optical transient (FBOT), or more specifically, luminous fast blue optical transient (LFBOT), is an explosive transient event similar to supernovae and gamma-ray bursts with high optical luminosity, rapid evolution, and predominantly blue emission. The origins of such explosions are currently unclear, with events occurring at not more than 0.1% of the typical core-collapse supernova rate. This class of transients initially emerged from large sky surveys at cosmological distances, yet in recent years a small number have been discovered in the local Universe, most notably AT 2018cow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GRB 221009A</span> Gamma-ray burst

GRB 221009A, also known as Swift J1913.1+1946, was an extraordinarily bright and long-lasting gamma-ray burst (GRB) jointly discovered by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope on October 9, 2022. The gamma-ray burst was around seven minutes long, but was detectable for more than ten hours following initial detection. Despite being around two billion light-years away, it was powerful enough to affect Earth's atmosphere, having the strongest effect ever recorded by a gamma-ray burst on the planet. The peak luminosity of GRB 221009A was measured by Konus-Wind to be ~ 2.1 × 1047 W and by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor to be ~ 1.0 × 1047 W over its 1.024s interval. A burst as energetic and as close to Earth as 221009A is thought to be a once-in-10,000-year event. It was the brightest and most energetic gamma-ray burst ever recorded, with some dubbing it the BOAT, or Brightest Of All Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AT 2021lwx</span> Astronomical Events

AT 2021lwx (also known as ZTF20abrbeie or "Scary Barbie") is the most energetic non-quasar optical transient astronomical event ever observed, with a peak luminosity of 7 × 1045 erg per second (erg s−1) and a total radiated energy of more than 1.5 × 1053 erg over three years. Only GRB 221009A was more energetic, while also being far brighter. It was first identified in imagery obtained on 13 April 2021 by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) astronomical survey and is believed to be due to the accretion of matter into a super massive black hole (SMBH) heavier than one hundred million solar masses (M☉). It has a redshift of z = 0.9945, which would place it at a distance of about eight billion light-years from earth, and is located in the constellation Vulpecula. No host galaxy has been detected.

AT2018hyz is a tidal disruption event (TDE) that was discovered in 2018 by the All Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASASS-SN).

References

  1. ↑ "NASA Telescopes Join Forces to Observe Unprecedented Explosion". Chandra Press Release: 7. 2011. Bibcode:2011cxo..pres....7. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  2. 1 2 Joshua S. Bloom; et al. (2011-03-30). "GRB 110328A / Swift J164449.3+573451: X-ray analysis and a mini-blazar analogy". GRB Coordinates Network. 11847: 1. Bibcode:2011GCN.11847....1B.
  3. ↑ "GRB 110328A: Chandra Observes Extraordinary Event". Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  4. ↑ Barres de Almeida; De Angelis (2011-04-13). "Enhanced emission from GRB 110328A could be evidence for tidal disruption of a star". arXiv: 1104.2528 [astro-ph.HE].
  5. ↑ Coco, Alejandro (2011-04-10). "The Most Intense Cosmic Explosion Ever Seen". Scienceray. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2011-04-22.
  6. ↑ Bloom, Joshua S.; Giannios, Dimitrios; Metzger, Brian D.; Cenko, S. Bradley; Perley, Daniel A.; Butler, Nathaniel R.; Tanvir, Nial R.; Levan, Andrew J.; O'Brien, Paul T.; Strubbe, Linda E.; De Colle, Fabio; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico; Lee, William H.; Nayakshin, Sergei; Quataert, Eliot; King, Andrew R.; Cucchiara, Antonino; Guillochon, James; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Fruchter, Andrew S.; Morgan, Adam N.; Van Der Horst, Alexander J. (2011). "A Possible Relativistic Jetted Outburst from a Massive Black Hole Fed by a Tidally Disrupted Star". Science. 333 (6039): 203–6. arXiv: 1104.3257 . Bibcode:2011Sci...333..203B. doi:10.1126/science.1207150. PMID   21680812. S2CID   31819412.
  7. ↑ Saxton, C. J.; Soria, R.; Wu, K.; Kuin, N. P. M. (2012-01-25). "Long-term X-ray variability of Swift J1644+57". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 422 (2): 1625. arXiv: 1201.5210 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.422.1625S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20739.x. S2CID   54882171.
  8. ↑ Wiersema, K.; van der Horst, A. J.; Levan, A. J.; Tanvir, N. R.; Karjalainen, R.; Kamble, A.; Kouveliotou, C.; Metzger, B. D.; Russell, D. M.; Skillen, I.; Starling, R. L. C.; Wijers, R. A. M. J. (2011-12-13). "Polarimetry of the transient relativistic jet of GRB 110328 / Swift J164449.3+573451". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 421 (3): 1942–1948. arXiv: 1112.3042 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.421.1942W. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20379.x. S2CID   53402046.
  9. ↑ Zauderer, B. A.; Berger, E.; Margutti, R.; Pooley, G. G.; Sari, R.; Soderberg, A. M.; Brunthaler, A.; Bietenholz, M. F. (8 April 2013). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. Ii. The Relativistic Jet Shuts off and a Transition to Forward Shock X-Ray/Radio Emission". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (2): 152. arXiv: 1212.1173 . Bibcode:2013ApJ...767..152Z. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/152.
  10. ↑ Zauderer, B. A.; Berger, E.; Margutti, R.; Pooley, G. G.; Sari, R.; Soderberg, A. M.; Brunthaler, A.; Bietenholz, M. F. (8 April 2013). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. Ii. The Relativistic Jet Shuts off and a Transition to Forward Shock X-Ray/Radio Emission". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (2): 152. arXiv: 1212.1173 . Bibcode:2013ApJ...767..152Z. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/152.
  11. ↑ Eftekhari, T.; Berger, E.; Zauderer, B. A.; Margutti, R.; Alexander, K. D. (20 February 2018). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. III. Late-time Jet Energetics and a Deviation from Equipartition". The Astrophysical Journal. 854 (2): 86. arXiv: 1710.07289 . Bibcode:2018ApJ...854...86E. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/aaa8e0 .
  12. ↑ Cendes, Y.; Eftekhari, T.; Berger, E.; Polisensky, E. (1 February 2021). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. IV. Continued Fading and Non-relativistic Expansion". The Astrophysical Journal. 908 (2): 125. arXiv: 2011.00074 . Bibcode:2021ApJ...908..125C. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abd323 .
  13. ↑ Zauderer, B. A.; Berger, E.; Soderberg, A. M.; Loeb, A.; Narayan, R.; Frail, D. A.; Petitpas, G. R.; Brunthaler, A.; Chornock, R.; Carpenter, J. M.; Pooley, G. G.; Mooley, K.; Kulkarni, S. R.; Margutti, R.; Fox, D. B.; Nakar, E.; Patel, N. A.; Volgenau, N. H.; Culverhouse, T. L.; Bietenholz, M. F.; Rupen, M. P.; Max-Moerbeck, W.; Readhead, A. C. S.; Richards, J.; Shepherd, M.; Storm, S.; Hull, C. L. H. (2011). "Birth of a relativistic outflow in the unusual γ-ray transient Swift J164449.3+573451". Nature. 476 (7361): 425–428. arXiv: 1106.3568 . Bibcode:2011Natur.476..425Z. doi:10.1038/nature10366. PMID   21866155. S2CID   205226085.
  14. ↑ Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev; Virgilli, Enrico (1 November 2017). "Swift J164449.3+573451 and Swift J2058.4+0516: Black hole mass estimates for tidal disruption event sources". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 607: A38. arXiv: 1707.05898 . Bibcode:2017A&A...607A..38S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201730869.
  15. ↑ Seifina, Elena; Titarchuk, Lev; Virgilli, Enrico (1 November 2017). "Swift J164449.3+573451 and Swift J2058.4+0516: Black hole mass estimates for tidal disruption event sources". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 607: A38. arXiv: 1707.05898 . Bibcode:2017A&A...607A..38S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201730869.
  16. ↑ Krolik J.; Piran T. (2011-04-13). "Swift J1644+57: A White Dwarf Tidally Disrupted by a 10^4 M_{odot} Black Hole?". The Astrophysical Journal. 743 (2): 134. arXiv: 1106.0923 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...743..134K. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/743/2/134. S2CID   118446962.
  17. ↑ Zauderer, B. A.; Berger, E.; Margutti, R.; Pooley, G. G.; Sari, R.; Soderberg, A. M.; Brunthaler, A.; Bietenholz, M. F. (8 April 2013). "Radio Monitoring of the Tidal Disruption Event Swift J164449.3+573451. Ii. The Relativistic Jet Shuts off and a Transition to Forward Shock X-Ray/Radio Emission". The Astrophysical Journal. 767 (2): 152. arXiv: 1212.1173 . Bibcode:2013ApJ...767..152Z. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/152.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.