A star has survived multiple close encounters with a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy, despite having material ripped away by immense gravitational tidal forces. This violent process, known as a tidal disruption event (TDE), usually results in the destruction of the star.
However, a flare spotted in a distant galaxy 893 million light-years away in 2018 showed a different pattern. The flare, named AT2018fyk, initially showed signs of a TDE, but unlike typical TDEs, the X-rays vanished quickly and then flared up again.
Astronomers concluded that the star had survived the TDE and completed another orbit to experience a second TDE. The star was once part of a binary system that passed too close to the black hole, resulting in one star being flung away and the other becoming tightly harnessed to the black hole.
Only some of the star’s material was stripped away, leaving a dense core that continued to orbit the black hole. The star’s core managed to steal some of its material back from the accretion disk, causing the X-ray emission to fade, before the black hole’s gravity stole more material during the star’s close approach.
Key Takeaways:
- A star in a distant galaxy has survived multiple close encounters and material disruption due to a supermassive black hole’s gravitational forces.
- The star was part of a binary system that came too close to the black hole, causing one star to be ejected and the other to be caught in an elliptical orbit around the black hole.
- The star’s core, not fully within the black hole’s tidal radius, managed to survive and continues its orbit, stealing back some of its material from the accretion disk formed by the black hole.
“A captured star has experienced multiple close encounters with a supermassive black hole in a distant galaxy — and possibly even survived having material ripped away by immense gravitational tidal forces.”
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