Birth of a relativistic outflow in the unusual γ-ray transient Swift J164449.3+573451

B. A. Zauderer*, E. Berger, A. M. Soderberg, A. Loeb, R. Narayan, D. A. Frail, G. R. Petitpas, A. Brunthaler, R. Chornock, J. M. Carpenter, G. G. Pooley, K. Mooley, S. R. Kulkarni, R. Margutti, D. B. Fox, E. Nakar, N. A. Patel, N. H. Volgenau, T. L. Culverhouse, M. F. BietenholzM. P. Rupen, W. Max-Moerbeck, A. C.S. Readhead, J. Richards, M. Shepherd, S. Storm, C. L.H. Hull

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

363 Scopus citations

Abstract

Active galactic nuclei, which are powered by long-term accretion onto central supermassive black holes, produce relativistic jets with lifetimes of at least one million years, and the observation of the birth of such a jet is therefore unlikely. Transient accretion onto a supermassive black hole, for example through the tidal disruption of a stray star, thus offers a rare opportunity to study the birth of a relativistic jet. On 25 March 2011, an unusual transient source (Swift J164449.3+573451) was found, potentially representing such an accretion event. Here we report observations spanning centimetre to millimetre wavelengths and covering the first month of evolution of a luminous radio transient associated with Swift J164449.3+573451. The radio transient coincides with the nucleus of an inactive galaxy. We conclude that we are seeing a newly formed relativistic outflow, launched by transient accretion onto a million-solar-mass black hole. A relativistic outflow is not predicted in this situation, but we show that the tidal disruption of a star naturally explains the observed high-energy properties and radio luminosity and the inferred rate of such events. The weaker beaming in the radio-frequency spectrum relative to γ-rays or X-rays suggests that radio searches may uncover similar events out to redshifts of z ≈ 6.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)425-428
Number of pages4
JournalNature
Volume476
Issue number7361
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Aug 2011

Funding

FundersFunder number
Universityof Chicago
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Science Foundation
Science and Technology Facilities Council
Israel Science Foundation
Ministry of Universities and Research of Italy
Swift ASI
Smithsonian Institution
California Institute of Technology
ASIAA
Academia Sinica
University of Cambridge
IRG
European Commission275596

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