Earl, Nicholas, French, K. Decker, Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico, Auchettl, Katie, Raimundo, Sandra I., Davis, Kyle W., Masterson, Megan, Arcavi, Iair, Lu, Wenbin, Baldassare, Vivienne F., Coulter, David A., de Boer, Thomas, Drout, Maria R., Dout, Maria R., Dykaar, Hannah, Foley, Ryan J., Gall, Christa, Gao, Hua, Huber, Mark E., Jones, David O., Langeroodi, Danial, Lin, Chien-Cheng, Magnier, Eugene A., Mockler, Brenna, Shepherd, Margaret and Verrico, Margaret E. (2025) AT 2020nov: Evidence for disk reprocessing in a rare tidal disruption event. The Astrophysical Journal, 983 (1), 28, [28]. (doi:10.3847/1538-4357/adb974).
Abstract
We present a detailed analysis of AT 2020nov, a tidal disruption event (TDE) in the center of its host galaxy, located at a redshift of z = 0.083. AT 2020nov exhibits unique features, including double-peaked Balmer emission lines, a broad UV/optical flare, and a peak log luminosity in the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) estimated at ∼ 45.6 6 − 0.33 + 0.10 erg s − 1 . A late-time X-ray flare was also observed, reaching an absorbed luminosity of 1.67 × 10 43 erg s −1 approximately 300 days after the UV/optical peak. Multiwavelength coverage, spanning optical, UV, X-ray, and mid-infrared (MIR) bands, reveals a complex spectral energy distribution (SED) that includes MIR flaring indicative of dust echoes, suggesting a dust covering fraction consistent with typical TDEs. Spectral modeling indicates the presence of an extended, quiescent disk around the central supermassive black hole with a radius of ∼ 5.0 6 − 0.77 + 0.59 × 1 0 4 R g . The multicomponent SED model, which includes a significant EUV component, suggests that the primary emission from the TDE is reprocessed by this extended disk, producing the observed optical and MIR features. The lack of strong active galactic nuclei signatures in the host galaxy, combined with the quiescent disk structure, highlights AT 2020nov as a rare example of a TDE occurring in a galaxy with a dormant but extended preexisting accretion structure.
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