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First Radio-Bright Tidal Disruption Event Found Outside a Galaxy’s Core Shows Record-Fast Flares

A peer-reviewed analysis finds a displaced supermassive black hole that fired delayed outflows months after shredding a star.

Overview

  • The study, published October 15 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, confirms AT 2024tvd as the first TDE with bright radio emission far from a galactic center.
  • Observations place the black hole about 2,600 light-years (0.8 kiloparsecs) from its host galaxy’s nucleus, establishing an off-nuclear origin.
  • Coordinated radio monitoring with VLA, ALMA, AMI-LA, ATA, and SMA captured two distinct, rapidly evolving radio flares, the fastest seen from a TDE.
  • The first flare appeared roughly four months after the optical discovery and the second about six months later, with both rising and fading unusually quickly.
  • Modeling indicates at least two separate ejection events months apart, suggesting episodic reactivation and offering a new way to find wandering massive black holes.