Kavli Affiliate: Erin Kara
| First 5 Authors: Lorena Hernández-García, Joheen Chakraborty, Paula Sánchez-Sáez, Claudio Ricci, Jorge Cuadra
| Summary:
Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are rapid, recurring X-ray bursts from
supermassive black holes, believed to result from interactions between
accretion disks and surrounding matter. The galaxy SDSS1335+0728, previously
stable for two decades, exhibited an increase in optical brightness in December
2019, followed by persistent Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN)-like variability for
5 years, suggesting the activation of a $sim$10$^6;M_odot$ black hole. From
February 2024, X-ray emission has been detected, revealing extreme
$sim$4.5-day QPEs with the highest fluxes and amplitudes, longest time scales,
largest integrated energies, and a $sim$25-day super-period. Low-significance
UV variations are reported for the first time in a QPE host, likely related to
the long timescales and large radii from which the emission originates. This
discovery broadens the possible formation channels for QPEs, suggesting they
are not linked solely to tidal disruption events but more generally to newly
formed accretion flows, which we are witnessing in real time in a turn-on AGN
candidate.
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