A systematic analysis of the X-ray emission in optically selected tidal disruption events: observational evidence for the unification of the optically and X-ray selected populations

Understand

We present a systematic analysis of the X-ray emission of a sample of 17 optically selected, X-ray-detected tidal disruption events (TDEs) discovered between 2014 and 2021.

• The X-ray light curves show a diverse range of temporal behaviors, with most sources not following the expected power-law decline.
• The X-ray spectra are mostly extremely soft and consistent with thermal emission from the innermost region of an accretion disk, which cools as the accretion rate decreases.
• Three sources show formation of a hard X-ray corona, at late-times.