STAR-EATERS AND LIGHT-BURPERS.
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| Title: | STAR-EATERS AND LIGHT-BURPERS. |
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| Authors: | CENDES, YVETTE (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Scientific American. Spring/Summer2026 Special, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p50-57. 8p. 3 Color Photographs, 2 Diagrams. |
| Subjects: | Supermassive black holes, Accretion disks, Astronomical observatories, Space telescopes, Radio waves, Astronomical observations, Radio jets (Astrophysics), Black holes |
| Abstract: | The article focuses on recent discoveries about tidal disruption events (TDEs), where stars are torn apart by supermassive black holes, forming unstable accretion disks that emit bright flares. Traditionally thought to produce a single flare followed by silence, new radio observations reveal that up to half of these black holes exhibit delayed radio emissions—described as "burps"—years after the initial event, challenging previous assumptions about black hole feeding behavior. One notable case, AT2018hyz ("Jetty"), displayed an unusually bright and prolonged radio outflow, possibly indicating a mildly relativistic jet or a delayed relativistic jet becoming visible over time. These findings suggest complex accretion disk dynamics and open new avenues for studying black hole physics, with future surveys by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope expected to greatly increase the number of observed TDEs. [Extracted from the article] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | The article focuses on recent discoveries about tidal disruption events (TDEs), where stars are torn apart by supermassive black holes, forming unstable accretion disks that emit bright flares. Traditionally thought to produce a single flare followed by silence, new radio observations reveal that up to half of these black holes exhibit delayed radio emissions—described as "burps"—years after the initial event, challenging previous assumptions about black hole feeding behavior. One notable case, AT2018hyz ("Jetty"), displayed an unusually bright and prolonged radio outflow, possibly indicating a mildly relativistic jet or a delayed relativistic jet becoming visible over time. These findings suggest complex accretion disk dynamics and open new avenues for studying black hole physics, with future surveys by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope expected to greatly increase the number of observed TDEs. [Extracted from the article] |
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| ISSN: | 00368733 |
