The most energetic transients: Tidal disruptions of high-mass stars
We present the class of extreme nuclear transients (ENTs), including the most energetic single transient yet found, Gaia18cdj. Each ENT is coincident with its host-galaxy nucleus and exhibits a smooth (<10% excess variability), luminous (2 × 10<sup>45</sup> to 7 × 10<sup>45</sup> erg per second), and long-lived (>150 days) flare. ENTs are extremely rare (≥1 × 10<sup>-3</sup> cubic gigaparsec per year) compared to any other known class of transients. They are at least twice as energetic (0.5 × 10<sup>53</sup> to 2.5 × 10<sup>53</sup> erg) as any other known transient, ruling out supernova origins. Instead, the high peak luminosities, long flare timescales, and immense radiated energies of the ENTs are most consistent with the tidal disruption of high-mass ( [Formula: see text] ) stars by massive ( [Formula: see text] ) supermassive black holes (SMBHs). ENTs will be visible to high redshifts (<i>z</i> ~ 4 to 6) in upcoming surveys, providing an avenue to study the high-mass end of the SMBH mass distribution, complementing recent studies of actively accreting SMBHs at high redshifts with the James Webb Space Telescope.
Authors
- D. Desai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2164-859X)
- Jay Strader (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1468-9668)
- Jason T. Hinkle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9668-2920)
- C. S. Kochanek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6017-2961)
- B. J. Shappee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4631-1149)
- T. W. S. Holoien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9206-3460)
- M. E. Huber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1059-9603)
- M. A. Tucker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2471-8442)
- W. B. Hoogendam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3953-9532)
- Aaron Do (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3429-7845)
- Thomas de Jaeger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6069-1139)
- A. V. Payne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3490-3243)
- Jack M. M. Neustadt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7351-2531)
- Katie Auchettl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4449-9152)
- Abigail Polin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1633-6495)
- Chris Ashall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5221-7557)
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Space Telescope Science Institute (US)
- University of Hawaii System (US)
- The University of Melbourne (AU)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- Carnegie Institution for Science (US)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Laboratoire de Physique Nucléaire et de Hautes Énergies (FR)
- Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté (FR)
- Carnegie Observatories (US)
- Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules (FR)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2025-06-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adt0074
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.77