Swift, Chandra, and XMM-Newtonhave found a weak but nearly constant X-raycomponent from the tidal disruption event Swift J1644+57 that appeared at virgul500days and was visible at least until virgul1400 days after the stellar capture, whichcannot be explained by standard tidal disruption theories. We suggest that thisX-ray afterglow component may result from the Thomson scattering between theprimary X-rays and its surrounding plasma, i.e., a Compton echo effect. Theproposed XMM-Newton observation will allow us to test our theory and constrainthe size and geometry of the surrounding gas cloud.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-03-09T04:24:20Z/2018-03-09T23:17:40Z
Version
17.56_20190403_1200
Mission Description
The European Space Agencys (ESA) X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) was launched by an Ariane 504 on December 10th 1999. XMM-Newton is ESAs second cornerstone of the Horizon 2000 Science Programme. It carries 3 high throughput X-ray telescopes with an unprecedented effective area, and an optical monitor, the first flown on a X-ray observatory. The large collecting area and ability to make long uninterrupted exposures provide highly sensitive observations. Since Earths atmosphere blocks out all X-rays, only a telescope in space can detect and study celestial X-ray sources. The XMM-Newton mission is helping scientists to solve a number of cosmic mysteries, ranging from the enigmatic black holes to the origins of the Universe itself. Observing time on XMM-Newton is being made available to the scientific community, applying for observational periods on a competitive basis.
European Space Agency, Prof Albert Kong, 2019, 'X-Ray afterglow of SWIFT J1644+57: a Compton echoquestionMark', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-ttg773a
