Relativistic Outflows Power a Quasi-periodic Eruption: Constraints on Energetics, Mass Loss, and Emission Mechanisms
16 affiliations
- 1Department of Physics & Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research
- 2University of California
- 3Columbia University
- 4Flatiron Institute
- 5Center for Astrophysics — Harvard & Smithsonian
- 6Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University
- 7New York University
- 8Department of Physics
- 9Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
- 10Centro de Astrobiología (CAB)
- 11Universidad Diego Portales
- 12Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- 13European Space Agency (ESA)
- 14University of Geneva
- 15University of Chicago
- 16European Southern Observatory
Abstract
Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are recurring bursts of X-ray radiation originating from supermassive black holes (SMBHs). They are an unprecedented type of structured, high-amplitude SMBH variability, but the physical origins of their regularity, timescales, energetics, and emission are uncertain. We present new XMM-Newton observations of the QPEs in ZTF 19acnskyy/“Ansky,” constituting the deepest observations of individual bursts in any source thus far. The X-ray spectra reveal time-evolving P Cygni profiles comprising blueshifted absorption and redshifted emission from L-shell transitions of Fe xix – xxiv , with column densities N H ∼ 10 ²²⁻²³ cm ⁻² and bulk velocities of ∣ v w / c ∣ ∼ 0.2, indicating relativistic mass ejections during each eruption. We construct a time-dependent analytical model of a wind turning on to self-consistently compute its evolving luminosity and ionization properties, and find that the light curve and spectral lines can be simultaneously produced by a wide-angle outflow with M ̇ ∼ 1 0 − 9 – 1 0 − 8 M ⊙ s − 1 kinetically powering the X-rays with an efficiency of L X / E ̇ K ∼ 0.1 . For a covering fraction f Ω ∼ 0.5, each eruption ejects ∼10 ⁻³ M ⊙ and ≳10 ⁴⁹ erg of kinetic energy, setting an upper bound on the QPE lifetime of ≲1000 bursts if the underlying mass reservoir is ∼1 M ⊙ , and implying that the bursts may result in detectable multiwavelength signatures of reverberation and feedback. These measurements provide new quantitative constraints on QPE energetics, emission mechanisms, and the mass/energy they recycle into their circumnuclear environments, as well as an observational probe for direct comparison with physical models and hydrodynamical simulations of QPEs.
Related
- Uncovering New Ionized Winds and Relativistic Hot Outflows in MCG-6-30-15 with \emph{Chandra} HETG and a Bayesian Framework
- Determination of the Angular Distributions of Dynamical and Emission Parameters of GRB Relativistic Outflows
- Determination of the Angular Distributions of Dynamical and Emission Parameters of Gamma-Ray Burst Relativistic Outflows
- Multi-tracer constraints on quasar outflows. Acceleration from BLR to galactic scales
- Linear causality and stability constraints on relativistic second-order magnetohydrodynamics
BibTeX
@article{chakraborty2026relativistic,
title = {{Relativistic Outflows Power a Quasi-periodic Eruption: Constraints on Energetics, Mass Loss, and Emission Mechanisms}},
author = {Joheen Chakraborty and Erin Kara and Wenbin Lu and Brian D. Metzger and Peter Kosec and Riccardo Arcodia and Itai Linial and Olivia Aspegren and Ehud Behar and Sudip Bhattacharyya and Margherita Giustini and Lorena Hernández-García and Daniel Kasen and Giovanni Miniutti and Frits Paerels and Erwan Quintin and Claudio Ricci and Daniele Rogantini and Paula Sánchez-Sáez and Fatima Zaidouni},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal Letters},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3847/2041-8213/aeb009},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb009},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Relativistic Outflows Power a Quasi-periodic Eruption: Constraints on Energetics, Mass Loss, and Emission Mechanisms
AU - Joheen Chakraborty
AU - Erin Kara
AU - Wenbin Lu
AU - Brian D. Metzger
AU - Peter Kosec
AU - Riccardo Arcodia
AU - Itai Linial
AU - Olivia Aspegren
AU - Ehud Behar
AU - Sudip Bhattacharyya
AU - Margherita Giustini
AU - Lorena Hernández-García
AU - Daniel Kasen
AU - Giovanni Miniutti
AU - Frits Paerels
AU - Erwan Quintin
AU - Claudio Ricci
AU - Daniele Rogantini
AU - Paula Sánchez-Sáez
AU - Fatima Zaidouni
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - The Astrophysical Journal Letters
DO - 10.3847/2041-8213/aeb009
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/aeb009
AB - Quasi-periodic eruptions (QPEs) are recurring bursts of X-ray radiation originating from supermassive black holes (SMBHs). They are an unprecedented type of structured, high-amplitude SMBH variability, but the physical origins of their regularity, timescales, energetics, and emission are uncertain. We present new XMM-Newton observations of the QPEs in ZTF 19acnskyy/“Ansky,” constituting the deepest observations of individual bursts in any source thus far. The X-ray spectra reveal time-evolving P Cygni profiles comprising blueshifted absorption and redshifted emission from L-shell transitions of Fe xix – xxiv , with column densities N H ∼ 10 ²²⁻²³ cm ⁻² and bulk velocities of ∣ v w / c ∣ ∼ 0.2, indicating relativistic mass ejections during each eruption. We construct a time-dependent analytical model of a wind turning on to self-consistently compute its evolving luminosity and ionization properties, and find that the light curve and spectral lines can be simultaneously produced by a wide-angle outflow with M ̇ ∼ 1 0 − 9 – 1 0 − 8 M ⊙ s − 1 kinetically powering the X-rays with an efficiency of L X / E ̇ K ∼ 0.1 . For a covering fraction f Ω ∼ 0.5, each eruption ejects ∼10 ⁻³ M ⊙ and ≳10 ⁴⁹ erg of kinetic energy, setting an upper bound on the QPE lifetime of ≲1000 bursts if the underlying mass reservoir is ∼1 M ⊙ , and implying that the bursts may result in detectable multiwavelength signatures of reverberation and feedback. These measurements provide new quantitative constraints on QPE energetics, emission mechanisms, and the mass/energy they recycle into their circumnuclear environments, as well as an observational probe for direct comparison with physical models and hydrodynamical simulations of QPEs.
SN - 2041-8205
SN - 2041-8213
ER -