2011/06/30 by Julian H. Krolik, Tsvi Piran · 8 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Black dwarf #Blue dwarf #Circumbinary planet #Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution #Jet (fluid) #Light curve #Main sequence #Swift #White (mutation) #White dwarf #astro-ph.HE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/743/2/134
published as ApJ, 743, 134, 2011 · Accepted for publication in Ap. J
arxiv created 2011/09/06 · openalex publication_date 2011/11/30 · arxiv updated 2015/05/28 · openalex created_date 2019/06/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We propose that the remarkable object Swift J1644+57, in which multiple recurring hard X-ray flares were seen over a span of several days, is a system in which a white dwarf was tidally disrupted by an intermediate-mass black hole. Disruption of a white dwarf rather than a main-sequence star offers a number of advantages in understanding the multiple, and short, timescales seen in the light curve of this system. In particular, the short internal dynamical timescale of a white dwarf offers a more natural way of understanding the short rise times (∼100 s) observed. The relatively long intervals between flares (∼5 × 10 4 s) may also be readily understood as the period between successive pericenter passages of the remnant white dwarf. In addition, the expected jet power is larger when a white dwarf is disrupted. If this model is correct, the black hole responsible must have a mass ≲ 10 5 M ☉ .