LONG-TERM SPECTRAL EVOLUTION OF TIDAL DISRUPTION CANDIDATES SELECTED BY STRONG CORONAL LINES
- Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)
- Department of Physics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (United States)
We present results of follow-up optical spectroscopic Multi-Mirror Telescope (MMT) observations of seven rare, extreme coronal line-emitting galaxies reported by Wang et al. Large variations in coronal lines are found in four objects, making them strong candidates for tidal disruption events (TDEs). For the four TDE candidates, all the coronal lines with ionization states higher than [Fe VII] disappear within 5-9 yr. The [Fe VII] line faded by a factor of about five in one object (J0952+2143) within 4 yr, whereas the line emerged in another two objects that previously did not show the line. A strong increment in the [O III] flux is observed, shifting the line ratios toward the loci of active galactic nuclei on the BPT diagram. Surprisingly, we detect a non-canonical [O III] {lambda}5007/[O III] {lambda}4959 ratio of {approx_equal} 2 in two objects, indicating a large column density of O{sup 2+} and thus probably optically thick gas. This result also requires a very large ionization parameter and a relatively soft ionizing spectral energy distribution (e.g., a blackbody with T < 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 4} K). Our observations can be explained as the echoing of a strong ultraviolet to soft X-ray flare caused by TDEs on molecular clouds in the inner parsecs of the galactic nuclei. Reanalyzing the Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectra reveals double-peaked or strongly blue-shouldered broad lines in three of the objects, which disappeared in the MMT spectra of two objects and faded by a factor of 10 in 8 yr in the remaining object with a decrease in both the line width and centroid offset. We interpret these broad lines as arising from decelerating biconical outflows. Our results demonstrate that the signatures of echoing can persist for as long as 10 yr and can be used to probe the gas environment in quiescent galactic nuclei.
- OSTI ID:
- 22133966
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 774, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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