Scientific paper in Nature using the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) on Kibo and the Swift satellite (USA) observations - First observation of a massive black hole swall...
The Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) on Kibo, in
coordination with the gamma-ray burst satellite Swift (USA),
observed the instant that a massive black hole swallowed a star for
the first time in the world, located in the center of a galaxy 3.9
billion light years away. This result was published in Nature
online, issued on August 25 Japan time. The title of the paper is
"Relativistic Jet Activity from the Tidal Disruption of a Star by a
Massive Black Hole".
The Swift team, led by Prof. David Burrows of Penn State
University, who is also the main author of this paper, detected a
strong gamma ray coming from the object located in Draco
constellation with a BAT instrument at 21:57 on March 28, 2011
(JST). This object, named Swift J1644+57, continued strong X-ray
emissions, so we understood it as different from a gamma-ray burst,
as is often observed when a massive star dies and a black hole is
born.
Alerted by information from the Swift team, the MAXI team,
including JAXA, Riken, and Profs. Nobuyuki Kawai in Tokyo Tech and
Hitoshi Negoro in Nihon University, both of whom co-authored the
Nature paper, reviewed the MAXI data of this object and found that
MAXI had detected X-rays from Swift J1644+57 several hours before
the Swift discovery. They also found that there had been no
previous X-ray emission before the activity this time.
Detailed analysis of MAXI and Swift observations revealed that the
X-ray came from a black hole located in the center of a galaxy
sucking down a star. This was the first time that a nucleus with no
X-ray emission had ever suddenly started such activity. The strong
X-ray and rapid variation indicated that the X-ray came from a jet.
Although there have been some other observations to date, namely
considered to be tidal disruption and a black hole swallowing a
star, they were not as violent as seen this time, and the beginning
had not previously been observed.
MAXI was mounted on the Japanese experimental module Kibo on the
ISS in July 2009 and has been monitoring the whole sky since August
2009. Moreover, MAXI can not only detect transient objects, but is
also capable of investigating the state of objects prior to the
phenomenon, which led to the current discovery. The X-ray camera
with MAXI can detect low-energy X-rays, enabling wide-ranging
coverage when combined with Swift BAT. Continual monitoring of MAXI
will lead to further new discoveries in future.
- Reference
- "Relativistic Jet Activity from the Tidal Disruption of a Star
by a Massive Black Hole"
(10.1038/nature10374) by David Burrows (Penn State University, USA)
- Co-authors in the MAXI team?
- Nobuyuki Kawai, Ryuichi Usui (Tokyo Tech)
Mutsumi Sugizaki (Riken)
Yoshihiro Ueda, Kazuo Hiroi (Kyoto University)
Hitoshi Negoro (Nihon University)
https://maxi.riken.jp/
Home page of Swift
https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/
X-ray Image of Swift J1644+57 by MAXI