Outflow–Cloud Interaction as the Possible Origin of the Peculiar Radio Emission in the Tidal Disruption Event AT2018cqh

Abstract AT2018cqh is a unique optical tidal disruption event (TDE) discovered in a dwarf galaxy exhibiting delayed X-ray and radio flares. We present the results from high-resolution Very Long Baseline Array and enhanced Multi Element Remotely Linked Interferometer Network radio observations of AT2018cqh extending to δ t ∼ 2250 days postdiscovery, which reveal a compact radio emission, unresolved at a scale of ≲0.13 pc at 7.6 GHz, with a high brightness temperature of T b ≳ 4.03 × 10 9 K. The radio spectral energy distribution (SED) is found to gradually shift toward a higher peak flux density and frequency over a period of ∼1000 days. An equipartition analysis suggests that there is little change in the radio-emitting region over this period, while the electron density increases by a factor of 3. The radio light curve at 0.89 GHz continues to rise, with a bump feature lasting for 240 days. These properties are in contrast to the predictions of the standard shock-wave model from a diffuse circumnuclear medium but could be explained if dense clouds exist in the circumnuclear environment. The latter scenario is supported by our hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of the TDE outflow with a cloud, which can reproduce the temporal evolution in the radio SED. This work highlights the importance of outflow–cloud interaction in explaining the delayed fast-rising radio emission observed in some TDEs, especially those occurring in galaxies with preexisting active galactic nucleus activity.