Multiwavelength Modeling of the Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transient AT2024wpp

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the multiwavelength data of the luminous fast blue optical transient AT2024wpp, testing various models to explain its emission, and suggests a possible tidal disruption event involving a low-mass star and an intermediate-mass black hole.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive multiwavelength modeling of AT2024wpp and evaluates multiple theoretical scenarios against observational data.

Findings

None of the tested models fully explain the data.

A stellar mass or IMBH tidal disruption event is favored.

Late-time observations could test the proposed scenario.

Abstract

Luminous fast blue optical transients (LFBOTs) are a growing class of enigmatic energetic transients. They show fast rises and declines, high temperatures throughout their evolution, and non-thermal emission in radio and X-rays. Their power source is currently unknown, but proposed models include engine-driven supernovae, interaction-powered supernovae, shock cooling emission, intermediate mass black hole tidal disruption events (IMBH TDEs), and Wolf-Rayet/black hole mergers, among others. AT2024wpp is the most optically luminous LFBOT to date and has been observed extensively at multiple wavelengths, including radio, optical, UV, and X-rays. We take models from multiple scenarios and fit them to the AT2024wpp optical, radio, and X-ray light curves to determine if which of these scenarios can best describe all aspects of the data. We show that none of the multiwavelength light curve models can reasonably explain the data, although other physical arguments favour a stellar mass/IMBH TDE of a low mass star and a synchrotron blast wave. We discuss how this scenario can be tested with late-time observations, and what other scenarios could possibly explain the broadband data.