A tidal disruption event in a quasar at redshift 7.19

@misc{fujimoto2026tidal,
  title = {{A tidal disruption event in a quasar at redshift 7.19}},
  author = {S. Fujimoto and Q. Fei and G. B. Brammer and K. Inayoshi and V. Kokorev and L. C. Ho and R. Li and F. Walter and V. Bromm and L. Colina and P. Dayal and S. L. Finkelstein and M. Ginolfi and Z. Liu and G. C. K. Leung and G. E. Magdis and J. Matthee and R. P. Naidu and P. Oesch and M. Onoue and P. G. Pérez-González and D. Watson and J. Álvarez-Márquez and J. Antwi-Danso and Y. Asada and G. Barro and C. M. Casey and J. Chisholm and S. Gillman and R. Marques-Chaves and J. P. U. Fynbo and T. R. Greve and I. Labbe and R. A. Meyer and F. Rizzo and A. Robbins and R. Schneider and C. L. Steinhardt and S. Toft and A. Trinca and F. Valentino and R. Valiante and M. Vestergaard and M. Xiao},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.30441},
  eprint = {2609.30441},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30441},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - A tidal disruption event in a quasar at redshift 7.19
AU  - S. Fujimoto
AU  - Q. Fei
AU  - G. B. Brammer
AU  - K. Inayoshi
AU  - V. Kokorev
AU  - L. C. Ho
AU  - R. Li
AU  - F. Walter
AU  - V. Bromm
AU  - L. Colina
AU  - P. Dayal
AU  - S. L. Finkelstein
AU  - M. Ginolfi
AU  - Z. Liu
AU  - G. C. K. Leung
AU  - G. E. Magdis
AU  - J. Matthee
AU  - R. P. Naidu
AU  - P. Oesch
AU  - M. Onoue
AU  - P. G. Pérez-González
AU  - D. Watson
AU  - J. Álvarez-Márquez
AU  - J. Antwi-Danso
AU  - Y. Asada
AU  - G. Barro
AU  - C. M. Casey
AU  - J. Chisholm
AU  - S. Gillman
AU  - R. Marques-Chaves
AU  - J. P. U. Fynbo
AU  - T. R. Greve
AU  - I. Labbe
AU  - R. A. Meyer
AU  - F. Rizzo
AU  - A. Robbins
AU  - R. Schneider
AU  - C. L. Steinhardt
AU  - S. Toft
AU  - A. Trinca
AU  - F. Valentino
AU  - R. Valiante
AU  - M. Vestergaard
AU  - M. Xiao
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/24
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.30441
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.30441
AB  - We report a long-lived nuclear transient in GNz7q, a red quasar at z=7.19 powered by a ∼3×10^7 M_⊙ black hole and hosted by a compact, dusty starburst galaxy. The transient was identified in more than two decades of imaging with HST, Spitzer, and JWST. After a rapid rise, the source faded smoothly by Δm≃1.1 mag in the rest-frame ultraviolet over ∼2 rest-frame yr, with coherent, wavelength-dependent evolution across 1--5 μm that places GNz7q above the 99.9th percentile of the SDSS quasar variability distribution and is absent at z≳5. The duration and energetics disfavor superluminous supernovae, and stochastic quasar variability reproduces the multi-band evolution with a probability of ≲10^−5. A panchromatic model combining a thermal continuum with a t^−5/3 decline reproduces the light curves, yielding a peak bolometric luminosity of ≃3×10^45 erg s^−1 and a radiated energy of ≃1.5×10^53 erg, which imply the tidal disruption of a star of a few solar masses and place the event among the most energetic tidal disruption events (TDEs) known. A redshifted, extremely broad Balmer-line component in independent JWST/NIRSpec spectroscopy is consistent with a transient, non-virialized broad-line region. JWST/MIRI photometry further reveals delayed mid-infrared emission from ≃1500 K dust at a sub-parsec radius, consistent with a dust echo of the flare. The relatively low black-hole mass and dense star-forming nucleus of GNz7q are conditions under which TDEs are expected to be most efficient. These observations provide a time-domain view of episodic black-hole fueling and its dusty nuclear environment 700 million years after the Big Bang. Wide-field surveys with Roman and Euclid in the near-infrared, complemented by LSST at lower redshifts, may uncover such transients in large numbers.
ER  -