Multiwavelength Follow-up Observations of the Tidal Disruption Event Candidate 2XMMi J184725.1-631724

TL;DR

This study presents multiwavelength follow-up observations of a candidate tidal disruption event, confirming its transient nature and nuclear origin through significant X-ray decay and UV emission analysis.

Contribution

It provides detailed multiwavelength data supporting the TDE interpretation and constrains persistent nuclear activity with tight upper limits.

Findings

X-ray luminosity decayed by a factor of >1000 after 2011

Detected faint X-ray counterpart in 2013 supporting nuclear origin

UV observations suggest initial enhanced UV emission associated with the TDE

Abstract

The ultrasoft X-ray flare 2XMMi J184725.1-631724 was serendipitously detected in two XMM-Newton observations in 2006 and 2007, with a peak luminosity of 6X10^43 erg/s. It was suggested to be a tidal disruption event (TDE) because its position is consistent with the center of an inactive galaxy. It is the only known X-ray TDE candidate whose X-ray spectra showed evidence of a weak steep powerlaw component besides a dominant supersoft thermal disk. We have carried out multiwavelength follow-up observations of the event. Multiple X-ray monitorings show that the X-ray luminosity has decayed significantly after 2011. Especially, in our deep Chandra observation in 2013, we detected a very faint counterpart that supports the nuclear origin of 2XMMi J184725.1-631724 but had an X-ray flux a factor of ~1000 lower than in the peak of the event. Compared with follow-up UV observations, we found that there might be some enhanced UV emission associated with the TDE in the first XMM-Newton observation. We also obtained a high-quality UV-optical spectrum with the SOAR and put a very tight constraint on the persistent nuclear activity, with a persistent X-ray luminosity expected to be lower than the peak of the flare by a factor of >2700. Therefore, our multiwavelength follow-up observations strongly support the TDE explanation of the event.