Kavli Affiliate: Erin Kara
| First 5 Authors: Joheen Chakraborty, Erin Kara, Megan Masterson, Margherita Giustini, Giovanni Miniutti
| Summary:
X-ray Quasi-Periodic Eruptions (QPEs) are a recently discovered phenomenon
associated with supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. They are
high amplitude soft X-ray flares that recur on timescales of hours, but what
causes these flares remains uncertain. In the two years since their original
discovery, four known QPE-hosting galaxies have been found, with varying
properties and levels of activity. We have conducted a blind algorithm-assisted
search of the XMM-Newton Source Catalog and found a fifth QPE candidate, XMMSL1
J024916.6-041244. This is a star-forming galaxy hosting a relatively low-mass
nuclear black hole, and has previously been identified as a Tidal Disruption
Event candidate. An XMM-Newton pointed observation of the source in 2006
exhibited nearly two QPE-like flares in soft X-rays, and, unlike in other QPE
sources, there are hints of corresponding dips in the UV light curves.
Afterwards, a series of Swift observations observed the rapid dimming of the
source; thereafter, in August 2021, we triggered a second XMM-Newton
observation, which revealed that the source is detected, but the QPEs are no
longer present. Here we report on (I) the strategy we used to systematically
search through XMM-Newton archival data; (II) the properties of J0249 and its
QPE flares; and (III) the relative behaviors and properties of the QPE sample
to date, now 5 members large.
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