Observational evidence for super-Eddington accretion in tidal disruption events(TDEs), though long suspected, has been vague. A decade-long TDE recentlydiscovered by us suggested that the super-Eddington accretion phase in a TDE canbe characterized by quasi-soft X-ray spectra (kTvirgul0.3 keV) at around theEddington luminosity. It is critical to study more such objects to test thisimplication. We have discovered two new events in two recent XMM-Newtonobservations with such super-Eddington accretion characteristics. We request tofollow up both of them (24 ks each) by XMM-Newton in AO17 to search for spectralstate transition and monitor flux decay, in order to confirm theirsuper-Eddington accreting TDE nature.
Instrument
EMOS1, EMOS2, EPN, OM, RGS1, RGS2
Temporal Coverage
2018-06-03T06:26:21Z/2018-06-09T14:28:48Z
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, Dr Dacheng Lin, 2019, 'XMM-Newton Observations of Two Super-Eddington Accreting Tidal Disruption Events', 17.56_20190403_1200, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-9s60y0c
