Speaker
Description
Quasi-Periodic Eruptions have been recently discovered in the nucleus of the low-mass black hole galaxy GSN 069. QPEs are abrupt increases in the X-ray count rate over a quiescent flux level, and recur quasi-periodically every few hours (Miniutti et al. 2019, Nature in press). Thanks to a new XMM-Newton observation performed at the end of May 2019, we have discovered X-ray QPEs in a second active galactic nucleus, RX J1301.9+2747. We present the general temporal and spectral properties of the X-ray QPEs, together with some possible interpretations for this new physical phenomenon. QPEs could be key to understand puzzling aspects of the physics of accretion around super massive black holes, such as the fast variability displayed by the changing-look AGN, or the formation of the soft X-ray excess.
| Affiliation | CAB - Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA) |
|---|---|
| Topic | Active Galactic Nuclei: accretion physics and evolution across cosmic time |
