The Birth of a Relativistic Jet Following the Disruption of a Star by a Cosmological Black Hole

TL;DR

This paper reports multi-wavelength observations of a high-redshift relativistic tidal disruption event, revealing a powerful jet with unique properties that challenge existing jet formation theories.

Contribution

It provides detailed observational evidence and modeling of a relativistic jet from a star disrupted by a supermassive black hole at high redshift, highlighting extreme jet conditions.

Findings

X-ray luminosity exceeds 10^{48} erg/s

Rapid variability on 1000-second timescales

Spectral energy distribution consistent with relativistic jet emission

Abstract

A black hole can launch a powerful relativistic jet after it tidally disrupts a star. If this jet fortuitously aligns with our line of sight, the overall brightness is Doppler boosted by several orders of magnitude. Consequently, such on-axis relativistic tidal disruption events (TDEs) have the potential to unveil cosmological (redshift $z>$1) quiescent black holes and are ideal test beds to understand the radiative mechanisms operating in super-Eddington jets. Here, we present multi-wavelength (X-ray, UV, optical, and radio) observations of the optically discovered transient \target at $z=1.193$. Its unusual X-ray properties, including a peak observed luminosity of $\gtrsim$10$^{48}$ erg s$^{-1}$, systematic variability on timescales as short as 1000 seconds, and overall duration lasting more than 30 days in the rest-frame are traits associated with relativistic TDEs. The X-ray to radio spectral energy distributions spanning 5-50 days after discovery can be explained as synchrotron emission from a relativistic jet (radio), synchrotron self-Compton (X-rays), and thermal emission similar to that seen in low-redshift TDEs (UV/optical). Our modeling implies a beamed, highly relativistic jet akin to blazars but requires extreme matter-domination, i.e, high ratio of electron-to-magnetic field energy densities in the jet, and challenges our theoretical understanding of jets.