Photometric Analysis of Radio-emitting Tidal Disruption Event Host Galaxies

Abstract Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) lie at the centers of most large galaxies and have significant influence on their environments. SMBHs cannot be observed directly but are studied through phenomena such as tidal disruption events (TDEs). A TDE occurs when a star is torn apart by the immense gravitational forces of an SMBH, forming an accretion disk with transient electromagnetic radiation. This study analyzes photometric properties of galaxies with observed radio emission from TDEs, comparing them to a control sample of 500 redshift-matched galaxies from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Galaxies hosting radio TDEs exhibit significantly lower g − r color (∼0.135 mag), consistent with more active star-forming populations. W1 − W2 values show no significant difference, suggesting dust content does not distinguish TDE hosts and that emissions from dust-rich galaxies may be undercounted. Although photometric analysis alone may not identify TDEs, it can guide follow-up observations by highlighting promising host galaxies.