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Astronomers explore the physical environment where X-ray bursts are repeated near monster black holes due to NASA's LICER (Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions.

Scientists have only recently encountered such X-ray flares, called QPE or quasi-periodic eruptions. Systems astronomers have been nicknamed Ansky, the eighth source of QPE found, which has produced the most dynamic burst to date. Ansky also sets records based on time and duration, and the outbreak lasts about 1.5 days.

“These QPEs are mysterious and very interesting phenomena,” said Joheen Chakraborty, a graduate student at Cambridge Technical College. "One of the most attractive aspects is their quasi-periodicity. We are still developing methods and frameworks that we need to understand what causes QPE, and Ansky's unusual properties are helping us improve these tools."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzl97dh4xa[/embed]

Ansky's name comes from ZTF19ACNSKYY, the nickname for the 2019 Visible Light explosion. It is located in a galaxy of about 300 million light-years in the constellation Virgo. This incident is the first sign that something unusual might have happened.

A paper about Ansky, led by Chakraborty, was published Tuesday in the journal Astrophysics.

A major theory suggests that QPE occurs in a system of relatively low mass objects passing through a gas disk surrounding a supermass black hole, which can accommodate hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the sun.

When low-mass objects are drilled through the disk, their pass drives the hot gas clouds of QPE in the X-ray.

Scientists believe that the quasi-periodicity of the burst occurs because the orbits of smaller objects are not completely circular and rotate towards the black hole over time. Similarly, extreme gravity close to black holes distorts the structure of space-time and changes the orbits of objects, so they do not close in every cycle. The current understanding of scientists suggests that bursts repeat until the disk disappears or the track objects decompose, which can take up to several years.

"Ansky's extreme properties may be due to the properties of its supermass black holes." said Lorena Hernández-García, an astrophysicist who studies and technologies in the Millennium core core, to explore supermass black holes. "In most QPE systems, a supermass black hole might shred a star, forming a small disk that is very close to itself. In the case of Ansky, we thought the disk was much larger and could keep the object farther, creating a longer timeline we observed."

In addition to being a co-author of the Chakraborty paper, Hernández-García led the study, which found Ansky's QPE, published in Nature Astromony in April and used data from NECA's NEIL GEHRELS SWIFT SWIFT Observatory and Chandra X-ray observatory Nicer, as well as Space Asip in Esa, and New York City in the European Pacific (Esa) (Europe).

From May to July 2024, Nice's position on the International Space Station allowed it to observe Ansky about 16 times. The frequency of observation is crucial for detecting X-ray fluctuations, and Ansky is found to produce QPE.

Chakraborty’s team used data from Nicer and XMM-Newton to map the rapid evolution of the pop-up material, driving observed QPE in unprecedented detail by studying changes in X-ray intensity during the rise and fall of each eruption.

The researchers found that each effect causes Jupiter's mass value to expand at about 15% of the speed of light.

Better telescopes are able to observe Ansky's ability from the space station and their unique measurement capabilities also make it possible for the team to measure the size and temperature of roughly spherical bubbles of debris as they expand.

"The Ansky observations used in these papers were collected after the instrument experienced a 'Light leak' in May 2023," said Zaven Arzoumanian, head of Mission Science at the Goddard Space Flight Center at Maryland NASA. “Even if the leak was patched in January – affecting the telescope’s observation strategy, Mel was still able to make an important contribution to time-domain astronomy or study the cosmic changes on the timeline we can see.”

After repairs, Nieer continued to observe Ansky's exploration of how the outbreak developed over time. A paper on these results, co-authored by Hernández-García and Chakraborty, is under review.

Observational studies of QPEs such as Chakraborty's will also prepare for the scientific community for a new era of multi-medium astronomy, which uses light, fundamental particles, and space-time ripples combined with measurements called gravitational waves to better understand objects and events in the universe.

One of the goals of ESA's future LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission is that NASA is a partner, inspiration for researching extreme large-scale ratios – or low-quality objects bypass larger systems, such as Ansky. These systems should emit gravitational waves that are not visible to the current facility. The electromagnetic research of QPE will help improve models of these systems before Lisa expects to be launched by the mid-2030s.

"We will be watching Ansky for as long as possible," Chakraborty said. "We are still in the stage of understanding QPE. It's an exciting time because there's a lot to learn."

go through Jeanette Kazmierczak
NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, MD.

Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
301-286-1940
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.