The nuclear transient AT 2017gge: a tidal disruption event in a dusty and gas-rich environment and the awakening of a dormant SMBH

TL;DR

This study presents a comprehensive multi-wavelength follow-up of the TDE AT2017gge, revealing its complex emission evolution in a dusty, gas-rich environment and linking it to the awakening of a dormant SMBH.

Contribution

It provides the first detection of a transient high-ionization coronal NIR line in a TDE and offers detailed insights into the emission origins across different wavelengths.

Findings

Detection of a delayed soft X-ray flare following optical/UV peak.

Observation of a transient high-ionization coronal NIR line ([Fe XIII] λ10798).

Correlation between TDE flare and emergence of extreme coronal line emission (ECLEs).

Abstract

We present the results from a dense multi-wavelength (optical/UV, near-infrared (IR), and X-ray) follow-up campaign of the nuclear transient AT2017gge, covering a total of 1698 days from the transient's discovery. The bolometric lightcurve, the black body temperature and radius, the broad H and He I $\lambda$5876 emission lines and their evolution with time, are all consistent with a tidal disruption event (TDE) nature. A soft X-ray flare is detected with a delay of $\sim$200 days with respect to the optical/UV peak and it is rapidly followed by the emergence of a broad He II $\lambda$4686 and by a number of long-lasting high ionization coronal emission lines. This indicate a clear connection between a TDE flare and the appearance of extreme coronal line emission (ECLEs). An IR echo, resulting from dust re-radiation of the optical/UV TDE light is observed after the X-ray flare and the associated near-IR spectra show a transient broad feature in correspondence of the He I $\lambda$10830 and, for the first time in a TDE, a transient high-ionization coronal NIR line (the [Fe XIII] $\lambda$10798) is also detected. The data are well explained by a scenario in which a TDE occurs in a gas and dust rich environment and its optical/UV, soft X-ray, and IR emission have different origins and locations. The optical emission may be produced by stellar debris stream collisions prior to the accretion disk formation, which is instead responsible for the soft X-ray flare, emitted after the end of the circularization process.