【科技日报】中等质量黑洞“进食”白矮星事件或首次被捕捉

Core Viewpoint - The "Tian Guan" satellite may have captured a rare event of a medium-mass black hole tearing apart and consuming a white dwarf star, which, if confirmed, would be the first clear observation of such an extreme cosmic phenomenon, significantly enhancing the understanding of black hole activity and high-energy astrophysical mechanisms [1][2]. Group 1 - The "Tian Guan" satellite's wide-field X-ray telescope, "Wan Xing Tong," discovered an exceptionally bright and rapidly changing X-ray source, identified as event EP250702a, located in the outskirts of a distant galaxy [1]. - Observations indicated that X-ray radiation was present about a day before a significant gamma-ray burst, suggesting that the physical engine of the explosion was activated early, differing from traditional gamma-ray bursts [1]. - The characteristics of the event, including high brightness and rapid evolution, could not be explained by common astrophysical explosion models, leading the scientific team to propose that a medium-mass black hole was tearing apart a white dwarf star [1]. Group 2 - The rapid decay and high brightness of the event suggest that the consumed celestial body had a high density, which aligns with the characteristics of a white dwarf star [2]. - The estimated mass of the black hole is less than approximately 75,000 times that of the Sun, ruling out the possibility of it being a supermassive black hole [2]. - The findings highlight the "Tian Guan" satellite's capability to capture fleeting cosmic phenomena, providing crucial insights into the long-sought medium-mass black hole population and opening new avenues for studying extreme cosmic environments [2].