Can GRB 250702B be explained as the tidal disruption of a white dwarf by an intermediate mass black hole? Yes
ABSTRACT GRB 250702B is a unique astrophysical transient characterised by its nature as a repeating gamma-ray trigger. Its properties include possible periodicity in its gamma-ray light curve, an X-ray counterpart that rose prior to the gamma-ray outbursts and faded quickly, and radio and infrared counterparts. These features are difficult to reconcile with most models of high energy transients but we show that they are compatible with a white dwarf bound to an intermediate mass black hole that is tidally stripped over multiple pericentre passages before being fully disrupted. In this model, accretion onto the black hole powers a mildly relativistic jet that produces the X-rays through internal processes and the infrared and radio counterparts through thermal emission and external shocks respectively but is unable to produce the gamma-ray emission on its own. We find that chaotic debris streams from the multiple stripping episodes can collide with a period roughly the same as the orbital period of the star. These shocks produce X-ray photons that are upscattered by the jet to produce the observed MeV gamma-ray emission. Future analysis of the jet properties will allow us to place firmer constraints on our model.
Authors
- Rob AJ Eyles-Ferris
- P. G. Jonker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5679-0695)
- A. J. Levan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7821-9369)
- A. Martín-Carrillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5108-0627)
- P. T. O’Brien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5128-1899)
- Andrew P. King (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9965-7015)
- M. de Pasquale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4036-7419)
- T. Laskar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1792-2338)
- Benjamin P. Gompertz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5826-0548)
- N. R. Tanvir (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3274-6336)
- Jillian Rastinejad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9267-6213)
- R. L. C. Starling (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5803-2038)
- Nikhil Sarin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2700-1030)
- Nusrin Habeeb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0944-7194)
Institutions
- University College Dublin (IE)
- University of Messina (IT)
- Leiden University (NL)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- University of Leicester (GB)
- University of Utah (US)
- Institute of Astronomy (RU)
- Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- University of Birmingham (GB)
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Published
- 2026-01-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stag005
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Gamma-ray bursts and supernovae
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 47.65
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Space Telescope Science Institute
- UK Research and Innovation
- Leverhulme Trust
- University of Leicester